The Samsung Galaxy M30s follows pretty hot on the heels of the original M30, that was only released in Feb 2019, waiting only 6 months. So, is it worth the upgrade? Before we look at that it is probably worth while explaining where the Galaxy M series fits into the overall range of Galaxy phones.
The A, J and M series are very much mid-range to budget phones, with the S series being the flagship range. The M stands for Millennial, and so you would guess that these phones are aimed at a younger audience, but I wouldn’t let that put you off, as the M30s is great value for money.
Don’t fix something that isn’t broke
There’s no change to the screen which seems to be pretty much of a Samsung standard one currently. This is a 6.4” Super AMOLED with an 84.2% screen to body ratio. It has a 1080p resolution, 403ppi density and 420 nits maximum brightness. As evidenced in other Samsungs, this a great screen – sharp and bright, so why change it?
The back and frame of the phone are plastic, but despite this the M30s still feels pretty solid in the hand.
Enormous 6000 mAh battery
It’s a little behind the times, as it ships with Android Pie (9) rather than the more recent Android 10. Similarly, Samsung’s own One UI is the older V1. The processor has been upgraded to the Exynos 9611, which is great for everyday tasks. It is available with 4 or 6GB or RAM and 64 or 128GB of expandable storage, so pretty decent innards that should be able to cope easily with standard day-to-day tasks.
The M30s has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a single speaker as well as a rear mounted fingerprint scanner, which according to tests is not the fastest. Finally, in this section the battery is an absolutely enormous 6000 mAh, but sadly the 15W fast charging does not really live up to its name. It’s probably just as well then that this battery should get you through 2 days without much problem, so you won’t need to charge it up as much as you would with another smartphone!
Good triple camera array
Onto the cameras, and here again Samsung has not skimped. The M30s now has a main 48MP f/2.0 wide, 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide and a 5MP f/2.2 depth. These shoot pretty good pictures in both daylight and at night, some reviewers reporting they are better than those produced by the A50 and A70. The camera unit now sits in the ubiquitous Samsung black rectangle at the top left, along with the LED flash.
On the front the selfie camera is located centrally in a U-shaped cutout and is the same 16MP f/2.0 wide lens that was in the M30. This can also shoot 1080p video at 30 frames per second.
Bargain at less than £200
Available in Opal Black, Sapphire Blue and Pearl White, the M30s can be picked up currently for around £165. The great screen, enormous battery and good camera make this a real bargain at that price and one well worth considering if you are looking for a well-known brand at a sub £200 price.
