Tecno Camon 30 Pro review

Design, build quality, handling

Tecno's phones have always been good-looking, with interesting designs and futuristic-looking camera bumps. The new Camon 30 series is no different, though the sci-fi elements are now mixed with a pinch of traditional ingredients.

The Tecno Camon 30 Pro has flat front and rear panels, and a flat frame with rounded corners. And while the front part is trivial - a screen with thin bezels and a small punch hole, the back is quite interesting design-wise.

The rear panel is a combination of matte plastic and eco-leather with an interesting texture, achieved by merging a unique new material with a texture that Tecno compares to a lotus leaf. Let's not forget the camera island with a metal zoom dial, even though it only serves decorative purposes.

We have the Alps Snowy Silver version for this review. But there is also the Island Basaltic Dark model, with a glass back and volcanic stone-like texture.

We are not sure if we are that old, but the back of the Camon 30 Pro reminded us of devices we usually got to see in some 90's sci-fi movies. And the red notification LED light did help, too, but more on that in a bit.

The Tecno Camon 30 Pro, while looking all metal, is in fact made of all plastic, excluding the camera ring. But the matte frame and leather-like back make for one of the best grips we've experienced on a smartphone, and we do commend Tecno for that.

The Camon 30 Pro has, unfortunately, no ingress protection, not even an IP52 rating. Meanwhile, the Camon 30 Premier offers IP54 protection.

The front is home to the 6.78-inch AMOLED of 1080p resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. There is a 50MP selfie camera with autofocus inside the small cutout. Things you cannot see, but you will use, are the UD fingerprint scanner and the top speaker/earpiece.

The back has two more 50MP cameras with autofocus - the primary and the ultrawide - as well as a 2MP depth sensor. Outside the camera island sits a dual-LED flash and a red indicator light. It flashes only in red and does that for incoming calls, when using Tecno's Ella voice assistant, the IR blaster and when charging.

And here is a look around the sides of the Camon 30 Pro. You can spot the IR blaster at the top, as well as the stereo speakers.

The sides of Camon 30 Pro

Overall, we liked the Camon 30 Pro a lot - it has a distinctive design, classy and memorable, and it provides an outstanding grip. If only it were water resistant, it would have been perfect, but we guess that was not possible at this price point.