Wiko’s newest device is the Power U30, which has a hefty 6,000 mAh battery and a huge display. The smartphone is expected to sell for less than 200 Euros (about $236). Discover its performance in this review.
Wiko Power U30
The Wiko Power U30 is composed mostly of plastic, with an unnamed 2.5D glass protecting the display. The smartphone has a sleek design and gives the sense of being sturdy. It is available in Carbone Blue, Midnight Blue, and Mint colors.
The Power U30 delivers a full-featured dual-SIM solution with microSD card support. The last object to the exFAT file system, although it performed well in the speed test. NFC is not supported, no notification LED, and Bluetooth 4.2 is obsolete. Since the Helio G35 with Bluetooth 5.0, we cannot fathom why Wiko has intentionally exacerbated the situation.
The Wiko smartphone can only connect to the mobile data network through LTE. With a maximum speed of 150 Mbps, it is not particularly fast. Wi-Fi is significantly slower since only IEEE 802.11 b/g/n standards are supported; therefore, the 2.4 GHz network is the only option. In conjunction with our reference router, Netgear Nighthawk AX12, the Power U30 demonstrates sluggish transfer speeds far below the current standard’s capabilities.
The Power U30 from Wiko supports both VoLTE and WLAN calling. A minor problem after setup is the inability to use 4G telephony. Even minute noises or sounds are successfully filtered, producing a high-quality voice. In speaker mode, there is little repercussion, although the Wiko user is rather quiet.
The operating system has been updated to the Android 11 version. However, security updates should only be accessible for two years.
The touch screen reacts to inputs effectively and has lovely gliding characteristics. On the rear of the device is a traditional fingerprint sensor, which has impressive identification rates, although being a touch sluggish. There is no face recognition, but a Google Assistant button is included.
Cameras
In the test, the front-facing camera of the Wiko Power U30 demonstrates a well-balanced picture composition and good color reproduction. Although the program detects us as the subject, the focus is inaccurate.
The triple rear camera does not merit this name. The 13 MP primary camera captures good images in well-lit environments; however, the two extra lenses give little apparent advantage. The digital zoom is similarly restricted to a 4x magnification, although the results are still acceptable.
Videos are captured in Full HD with a maximum frame rate of 30 FPS on both sides.
Image Comparison
Select a scenario and then browse inside the first picture. On touchscreens, a single click alters the location. A click on the magnified picture will open the original image in a new window. The first picture is a scaled snapshot of the test apparatus.
Display
The Wiko Power U30 sports a huge 6.82-inch (17.32 cm) IPS display with only HD resolution and low brightness. However, over 15 candelas are too bright in the dark for prolonged eBook reading. The night light has a strong red tint.
The maximum brightness of 403 cd/m2 in the middle of the display is average and demonstrates comparable values with the ambient light sensor activated and in the APL50 assessment (399 cd/m2).
Not only does the smartphone lack HDR content capability, but it also lacks DRM certification; thus, protected material can only be consumed in SD format.
Even after adjusting the color scheme, the color reproduction is still too chilly, but it gives a great impression overall. A veil covers the image at flat viewing angles, and the brightness falls. Additionally, a small glow effect is noticeable on the IPS display.
Battery life & Efficacy
The MediaTek Helio G35, which debuted in the middle of last year and belonged to the entry-level category, is the heart of the Wiko Power U30. The eight ARM Cortex-A53 cores operate at speeds of up to 2,300 MHz. The GPU is a PowerVR GE8320, utilized by many SoC manufacturers since 2014. Consequently, support for current APIs such as Vulkan 1.0 is inadequate, and gaming performance is bad.
Even in less demanding games, landing times may be lengthy. More difficult games may be completed, but they are less enjoyable. PUBG takes more than two minutes to launch, even the out-of-date HD option cannot be chosen, and the game often stutters. In exchange, the Power U30 rarely heats up under load conditions.
The speaker on the lower border lacks persuasion. The music is muffled, uneven, and consistently overdriven. This is more convincing through the audio jack, which offers a very low-noise reproduction (SNR: 90.19 dBFS). Bluetooth 4.2 is no longer current. However, Wiko’s smartphone is compatible with the essential codecs (SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, and LDAC).
The Power U30’s huge battery allows for extended life; however, it does not distinguish itself from the competitors.