The strength of the Wiko Power U30 is the great autonomy combined with a very large display. We tell you about it in our review.
Wiko Power U30 is the new smartphone of the French telephony brand that you will forget to recharge: the real strength of this device, in fact, is the guaranteed long autonomy (up to four days of use, as certified also by the independent body DxOMark) . And that’s the real reason to buy it. It is a product that requires some renunciation, especially when compared to what the competition offers for the same amount. It arrives in Italy at a list price of 179.99 euros in the configuration with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of expandable internal memory, a price that will not make life easy at all.
Below 200 euros, in fact, it is possible to buy products that are positioned one step higher than the Wiko Power U30 . We think of the Redmi Note 10 , the Realme 7 5G , the Poco M3 Pro . However, no one is able to ensure up to four days of autonomy while still offering a very large display . This is the Power U30 weapon.
An infinite battery
Wiko Power U30 offers up to four days of battery life with average use . The credit is due to the 6,000 mAh battery but also to the processor and display, both of which are not very energy-intensive. If your priority is a smartphone with a long-lasting battery (perhaps to use as a second phone or to give as a gift to your elderly parents) and with a large display, this is the product to choose .
The beating heart is the MediaTek Helio G35 processor – the same as cheaper products like Redmi 9C and Realme C21 – with 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal memory. The smartphone goes into trouble easily and does not have that reactivity that one would expect even from a 179 euro product. To understand well the performance of Wiko Power U30, however, you have to step into the shoes of the people to whom this product is aimed.
Wiko Power U30: the back cover
Technology lovers (but also the youngest) are used to switching from one tab to another quickly, typing a message quickly. In other words, they are used to snappy smartphones, so they might find the lag between inputs and outputs annoying. On the other hand, a less tech-savvy user (think of our parents or grandparents) will perform all these actions much more slowly, so they may not even notice this delay. Seen in this light, Power U30 ensures acceptable performance albeit with some burrs .
An impressive design
Wiko Power U30 is great. There are no other adjectives to define it. The front houses a large 6.8-inch panel with HD + resolution. In general, we are talking about a good display that would have scored a few more points with higher resolution. From this point of view, there has been an improvement over the screens chosen for the Wiko models of previous years. In addition, the panel has a good oleophobic treatment, so it retains very little fingerprints (an advantage especially outdoors).
Wiko Power U30: the display
It also improves the design, at least on the back. The shell is made of polycarbonate and is characterized by a gradient texture with triangular graphics that recreates pleasant plays of light, especially in the coloring in our possession. These chromatic games, however, hide the fingerprints very well. Pleasant glossy contrast of the photographic module whose protrusion is reduced to a minimum and does not create any discomfort. On the back, we also find the biometric sensor for fingerprint recognition, whose positioning is a bit uncomfortable (it is higher than where the index naturally rests).
The same goes for the side buttons. There is the on / off switch (knurled to be recognizable), the volume rocker and the button dedicated to Google Assistant. Finally, the upper edge houses the 3.5 mm audio jack which is always pleasant to find.
WIko Power U30: the edge
The audio is mono (speaker in the lower part) and the quality is average. The charging port is of the Type-C type. Too bad for the absence of the NFC chip which is now depopulating even in the low end of the market.
A special mention for the eco-friendly packaging , 100% recyclable: entirely made of paper and cardboard without using glue or paint.
A subdued camera
The photographic sector is one of the areas in which Wiko smartphones suffer the most and Power U30 is no exception. The choice of sensors here is also a bit odd. We have a 13 Megapixel main sensor, a 2 Megapixel sensor to recreate the blurred background and a third QVGA sensor which – in reality – only serves to manage the light. In other words, the only useful camera is the main one. It would have been better to opt for a wide angle instead of the other two sensors. This would have offered greater versatility of use.
The quality of the shots is sufficient in excellent lighting conditions, while the result inevitably drops at night. In this case, the night mode can intervene which slightly improves the final result. The noise is always visible both day and night.
On the other hand, the 8 Megapixel front camera enclosed in a teardrop notch. The shots appear undefined and with unattractive colors. In short, the photographic sector is certainly not the strength of the Wiko Power U30 but for a basic use it is just fine.
Finally, we come to the software (another strong point). On board there is Android 11 with some small customization by Wiko . Let’s talk about a clean software with some nice gems. There is the now inevitable Simple Mode which makes the interface graphics simpler (larger icons, division into tabs of the apps and main settings) to make it more intuitive to an older audience, facilitating the identification of the most used (time, weather, contacts, WhatsApp, etc …).
Conclusions
Pro:
- autonomy
- display size
- 5mm audio jack
- clean software
Against:
- subdued camera
- fluctuating performance
- high price compared to the competition
Wiko Power U30 is a smartphone that is chosen for autonomy and for the width of the display. A good job has been done from a constructive point of view and the presence of the audio jack is always appreciable. However, there are some areas in which it still chases the competition, first of all the performances of the photographic sector that remain below average.
Unfortunately, the competition it faces is great. A cheaper price (reaches 179.99 euros) would have given it an edge considering what the OPPO , Xiaomi and Realme proposals are able to offer at the same figures.