A few days ago, Realme launched the new Narzo 30 series: a lineup targeted to young people with great specifications offered at an affordable price. The lowest-end variant of the series is the Realme Narzo 30A providing entry-level specifications but great performance. POCO is actually one of the best Realme’s rivals in the low-end segment: the Xiaomi subsidiary recently released the POCO M3 in the global market. While waiting for the Narzo 30A to exit the Indian market under another moniker (even though it was never confirmed), we think it is time to compare it with the POCO M3 in order to establish which one is the king of entry-level phones.

Realme Narzo 30A vs Xiaomi Poco M3

Realme Narzo 30A Xiaomi POCO M3
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT 164.5 x 75.9 x 9.8 mm, 205 grams 162.3 x 77.3 x 9.6 mm, 198 g
DISPLAY  6.5 inches, 720 x 1600p (HD+), IPS LCD  6.53 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), IPS LCD
PROCESSOR MediaTek Helio G85, octa-core 2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 662, octa-core 2.0 GHz
MEMORY  3 GB RAM, 32 GB – 4 GB RAM, 64 GB – micro SD dedicated slot  4 GB RAM, 64 GB – 4 GB RAM, 128 GB –  micro SD dedicated slot
SOFTWARE  Android 10, Realme UI  Android 10, MIUI
CONNECTIVITY  Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS  Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS
CAMERA Dual 13 + 2 MP, f/2.2 + f/2.4
8 MP f/2.0 front camera		 Triple 48 + 8 + 2  MP, f/1.8 + f/2.4 + f/2.4
8 MP f/2.1 front camera
BATTERY 6000 mAh, fast charging 18W  6000 mAh, fast charging 18W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Dual SIM slot, reverse charging Dual SIM slot, reverse charging

Design

Unfortunately, you can not expect a great design from devices in the low-end segment. Despite that, the Realme Narzo 30A and the POCO M3 have a pretty nice build quality and original aesthetics. I like the Realme Narzo 30A with its “laser” color variants composed of two pieces: a straight one on the upper part of the rear cover and a pattern on the lower part. Both the phones are made of plastic and they do not provide certification against water and dust. Fortunately, each of these devices is equipped with a fingerprint reader: it is placed on the side of the POCO M3 and on the rear of the Realme Narzo 30A.

 

Display

The displays on the Realme Narzo 30A and the POCO M3 are nothing special. Both come with a below-average HD+ resolution and IPS technology. The color reproduction is not very realistic and the definition is all but high, especially if we consider that these phones come with 6.5-inch displays. The Realme Narzo 30A is actually better because it sports a higher brightness (470 nits of typical brightness and 570 nits of peak brightness), but the differences are marginal. The phones have a waterdrop notch for the selfie camera.

 

Specs & Software

The POCO M3 is equipped with a Snapdragon 662 chipset, while the Realme Narzo 30A is powered by the Helio G85. While the Helio G85 is slightly more powerful than the Snapdragon 662 on benchmarks, the POCO M3 actually provides better memory configurations and faster internal storage, that is why it wins the hardware comparison. The RAM goes up to 6 GB in the most expensive configuration, and you get either UFS 2.1 or UFS 2.2 storage. The Realme Narzo 30A has just 4 GB of RAM in the best configuration paired with eMMC native storage. Both the phones run Android 10 as the operating system out of the box.

 

Camera

The POCO M3 has a superior camera department to the Realme Narzo 30A. With the POCO M3, you get a 48 MP main camera, a 2 MP macro camera and a 2 MP depth sensor. The Realme Narzo 30A has an inferior 13 MP main camera and just one 2 MP depth sensor. There is no challenge: the POCO M3 is able to provide a better photo quality with a higher level of detail, as well as better macro shots.

 

 

Battery

Both Realme Narzo 30A and POCO M3 are equipped with a 6000 mAh battery. Their 6000 mAh batteries are the strongest point of these devices as they allow them to reach three days of battery life even with pretty intensive usage. Further, the phones support 18W fast charging and even reverse charging (only through the USB cable). These are real battery phones among the best in the whole market.

 

Price

The starting price of the Realme Narzo 30A in the Indian market is Rs. 9,799 / $134, while POCO M3 starts from Rs. 11,970 / $164. With the Realme Narzo 30A, you can save money, but the POCO M3 is actually a better phone thanks to its better memory configurations (more RAM and UFS internal storage) and higher-end cameras (48 MP sensor and a pair of 2 MP additional ones). The POCO M3 wins the comparison, while you should go for the Realme Narzo 30A only if you want to pay the lowest amount of money possible for your new phone (you would still get a similar experience if we exclude the camera).

 

 

Realme Narzo 30A vs Xiaomi Poco M3: PRO and CONS

Realme Narzo 30A

PRO

  • Slightly more compact
  • Powerful chipset
  • Interesting design

CONS

  • Limited availability

 

Xiaomi POCO M3

PRO

  • Slightly wider display
  • Better rear camera
  • UFS storage
  • Stereo speakers
  • IR blaster
  • Worldwide availability

CONS

  • Nothing particular

 

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