Introduction
The Narzo 30 5G is yet another entry into the affordable 5G space from Realme - essentially a repackaged Realme 8 5G with a flashier design. You'd think it would at least be aimed at different markets, but that's not necessarily the case as both phones are being sold in Europe and India.
We got our hands on a Narzo 30 5G unit, and we'll give it a quick look here. For more detailed findings, a trip to the Realme 8 5G in-depth review should mostly answer your questions about the performance of the Narzo as well.
A rundown of the specs will tell you that the Narzo 30 5G is powered by the Dimensity 700, Mediatek's lower-end 5G-capable chip. The phone is available in a single 128GB storage version, and RAM can be either 4GB or 6GB - compare that to the Realme 8 5G, which starts at 64GB/4GB and tops out at 128GB/8GB.
The display is a decent 6.5-inch LCD with FullHD resolution and 90Hz refresh rate, and we had no reasons to complain about it on the sister phone - within its market context, of course. A relatively basic rear camera system consisting of a 48MP primary unit and two 2MP sidekicks is complemented by a 16MP selfie camera, and we found those to be pretty good on the 8 5G, so no issues here either.
Other welcome bits include the large 5,000mAh battery, a dedicated memory card slot and a headphone jack. One omission on this model is NFC - that's one of the key differences between the Narzo and the Realme 8 5G, though there do tend to be variation in this respect from market to market, so it could be worth checking what the situation is in your country.
Realme Narzo 30 5G specs at a glance:
- Body: 162.5x74.8x8.5mm, 185g.
- Display: 6.50" IPS LCD, 90Hz, 480 nits (typ), 600 nits (peak), 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 405ppi.
- Chipset: MediaTek MT6833 Dimensity 700 5G (7 nm): Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G57 MC2.
- Memory: 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM; microSDXC (dedicated slot).
- OS/Software: Android 11, Realme UI 2.0.
- Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, PDAF; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
- Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.1, 26mm (wide).
- Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
- Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 18W.
- Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); 3.5mm jack.
Realme Narzo 30 5G unboxing
The Narzo 30 5G ships in a blue Narzo box - not the yellow packaging of your regular Realmes. The contents are the same we received with the Realme 8 5G, though. You get an 18W charger, a USB-A-to-C cable, and a smoked soft silicone case.
The handset itself looks extraordinary on the outside, so let's see what that's all about.
Design
The Narzo 30 5G features a couple of bold design strokes, even for the not overly restrained in terms of looks Realme. Placed side by side with the 8 5G, the Narzo does look more exciting, with the arrows in the racing stripe appearing to move as light changes angles. It's not that the 8 5G looks bad, but we'd say the Narzo has more personality.
The arrows lead you from the camera island into the Narzo logo, which is in a contrasting shiny font on our Racing Blue variant. The logo is less prominent and a bit more stylish, we'd say, on the Racing Silver colorway.
The back panel is plastic, and it has a glossy finish, but it somehow wasn't quite as prone to accumulating smudges as other similar designs.
The camera island itself is identical to the one on the Realme 8 5G. It sticks out quite a bit, causing the phone to wobble if you're one to type on it when it's lying down on a table. The included case doesn't entirely solve that either.
The frame of the handset is made of plastic and is painted to complement the back color. It's finished to a fine satin sheen.
Controls and IO
The Narzo 30 5G operates in much the same fashion as the Realme 8 5G. There's a power button on the right side of the phone with a capacitive fingerprint reader embedded in it. Similarly to the 8 5G, we found the sensor to be fast and accurate, and there's a provision in settings for it to require a press if you find yourself activating the recognition by accident.
On the left side of the phone, you'll find the volume rocker, which clicks positively, the same as the power button.
The card tray is on this side as well, and it takes up to two nano SIMs and a microSD card, all three at the same time.
Down at the bottom, you get the USB-C port in the middle, the single loudspeaker to one side and the headphone jack and primary microphone on the other.
Power button/fingerprint reader on the right • Volume rocker and card tray on the left • The usual stuff on the bottom
Display
Over on the front of the Narzo, it's the same 6.5-inch LCD as on the Realme 8 5G. Realme says it will do 480nits when adjusting brightness manually and go up to 600nits in high brightness mode (not a specific mode you can enable, it's up to the phone), and those numbers do check out on the 8 5G, so there's no reason to doubt that the Narzo 30 5G can achieve them as well.
The phone comes with a pre-applied plastic screen protector offering a certain degree of peace of mind, but it tends to get pretty smudged up, and it doesn't feel as nice as swiping on the glass display.
The panel supports a 90Hz refresh rate, and the software offers three modes - 60Hz, 90Hz, and Auto Select. There's little to say about the 60Hz mode - the phone remains at that refresh rate in all apps and use cases.
The 90Hz mode will give you the high refresh rate across the UI and in nearly all apps, as long as you're swiping on the display and will quickly switch down to 60Hz when idle.
Auto Select, on the other hand, will generally maintain the above behavior, but it will directly switch to 60Hz for certain apps, regardless of activity (Quora, Google Photos, the GSMArena app). YouTube, meanwhile, will be stuck at 60Hz regardless of mode.
The display does not have HDR support, but the phone does have Widevine L1 certification, so it will play FullHD content in Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
Software
The Narzo 30 5G runs Android 11 with Realme UI 2.0 on top. We're very familiar with that combo from recent Realmes, and v.2 of the in-house layer means richer customization options, a couple of extra Dark Mode styles, refined floating and mini windows, and enhanced security.
The launcher has no-nonsense homescreens, a simplistic and now cleaner notification/toggles area, and an easy-to-use task switcher. An App drawer is available, too, and it is as clutter-free as one could hope for. You can opt out of the app drawer if that's your thing.
Realme UI 2.0: Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Quick toggles • Task switcher • Settings
Realme UI supports different icon packs, you can also change the system colors, the fingerprint scanner animation, the notification drawer icons, even the system font. There is a Theme Store, too, so you can spice things up even more. Dark mode is available with a fair of customization in there too.
A host of gestures are available for executing actions like launching the camera or turning on the flashlight, and you can choose between the two main navigation methods - a navigation bar or gestures.
Similar to the recent Galaxies, the Realme UI offers a Smart Sidebar on the edge of the screen - you can customize the actions and app shortcuts that appear there.
Realme also has a game optimizer and launcher, called Game Space. It lets you apply performance profiles, and resolution scaling on a per-app basis and also offers performance metrics, including an FPS readout.
Icon customization • Dark mode • Gestures • Navigation • Smart Sidebar • Game Space
Performance
The Narzo 30 5G gets its processing power from the Mediatek Dimensity 700, an entry-level 5G-enabled chipset. Built on a 7nm fabrication process, it features an octa-core CPU with 2x 2.2GHz Cortex-A76 and 6x 2.0GHz Cortex-A55 cores, and a Mali-G57 GPU. As we mentioned previously, the Narzo is only offered in 128GB/6GB and 128GB/4GB variants (the latter not available in India), while the Realme 8 5G has a couple of additional trim levels (64/4 and 128/8).
The Narzo ships with a software build that includes a provision for 'Virtual RAM' - allocating some of the storage to use as a makeshift buffer where the phone can keep some of the app processes. It picks the less important ones to offload from the real RAM, instead of killing them off completely, thus potentially improving perceived performance. The menu option lets you choose between 2GB, 3GB, and 5GB of Virtual RAM. The effects of it are difficult to objectively measure, however.
GeekBench 5 (multi-core)
Higher is better
- OnePlus Nord N10 5G
1848 - Realme 7 5G
1794 - Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G
1787 - Realme 8 5G
1784 - Realme Narzo 30 5G
1783 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
1673 - Motorola Moto G50
1620
GeekBench 5 (single-core)
Higher is better
- OnePlus Nord N10 5G
608 - Realme 7 5G
598 - Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G
597 - Realme Narzo 30 5G
572 - Realme 8 5G
569 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
505 - Motorola Moto G50
505
AnTuTu 8
Higher is better
- Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G
333952 - Realme 7 5G
318535 - Realme 8 5G
302059 - Realme Narzo 30 5G
290161 - OnePlus Nord N10 5G
279579 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
226561
GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G
35 - Realme 7 5G
35 - Motorola Moto G50
29 - OnePlus Nord N10 5G
26 - Realme Narzo 30 5G
25 - Realme 8 5G
25
GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Motorola Moto G50
53 - Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G
51 - Realme 7 5G
31 - OnePlus Nord N10 5G
23 - Realme Narzo 30 5G
22 - Realme 8 5G
22
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)
Higher is better
- Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G
20 - Realme 7 5G
20 - Motorola Moto G50
16 - Realme Narzo 30 5G
15 - Realme 8 5G
15 - OnePlus Nord N10 5G
14
GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)
Higher is better
- Motorola Moto G50
27 - Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G
18 - Realme 7 5G
17 - Realme Narzo 30 5G
13 - Realme 8 5G
13 - OnePlus Nord N10 5G
13
3DMark Wild Life Vulkan 1.1 (offscreen 1440p)
Higher is better
- Realme 7 5G
1589 - Realme Narzo 30 Pro 5G
1556 - Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
1185 - Realme Narzo 30 5G
1105 - Realme 8 5G
1104 - OnePlus Nord N10 5G
811
Unsurprisingly, the Narzo 30 5G posted virtually identical results to the ones we got out of the Realme 8 5G, aside from a minor (and essentially immaterial) 3% difference in Antutu. For some context against affordable 5G competitors, the Narzo is marginally behind the OnePlus Nord N10 and a bit more noticeably ahead of the Galaxy A32 5G. In any case, the differences between these aren't significant. On the other hand, going for a slightly more expensive Realme 7 5G or a Narzo 30 Pro 5G may net you performance gains that you can actually feel.
Wrap-up
Realme's come up with something of a strategy to differentiate the two alter-egos, Narzo 30 5G and 8 5G. Different RAM and storage options are available on the two, the Realme 8 5G has NFC, while the Narzo doesn't, and then there's the obviously different design of the two phones. Additionally, in India, physical stores will only have one model or the other, but not both in the same store, though online retailers seemingly do stock both.
All that said, the Narzo 30 5G remains essentially a Realme 8 5G, with all the good and the bad stuff that comes with it. For some more precise test results and more detailed comparisons against potential rivals, it's worth checking out the Realme 8 5G review. But the gist of it is that it's a low-priced 5G-capable phone with an adequate 90Hz display, a good 48 MP camera and a large 5,000mAh battery - sounds like a solid proposition.
On the flipside, it can't record 4K video, charges slowly and omits features Realme itself offers for a modest premium on the 7 5G (ultrawide camera, 4K recording, splash protection). There's also competition from outside, including the Moto G50 that's also in our review pipeline, as well as the Galaxy A32 5G and the OnePlus Nord N10.
Ultimately, the Narzo 30 5G is a well-rounded phone that can get you 5G connectivity on the cheap, accompanied by decent performance when it comes to the fundamentals.
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