My first ever encounter with a TECNO smartphone was NOT the SPARK 20 Pro+ I’ve reviewed early this year. Rather, it was the CAMON 20 Pro that we unboxed last year.

TECNO CAMON 20 Pro (2023)

That phone packs a decent amount of punch, but its design isn’t up to my liking. Although I have to give ’em props with its unique diamond, prism-like design.

TECNO CAMON 20 Pro (2023)

But in just 10 months, TECNO has already announced the successor to last year’s CAMON 20.

Grandeur Glow-Up

As alluded to earlier, the CAMON 30 Series was revealed as early as February 2024. But it’s never too late to get our hands on one of the most premium phones in the lineup — and it’s none other than the CAMON 30 Premier.

To make this review even more special, I have the exclusive CAMON 30 Premier LOEWE. Design Edition.

This special colorway was released two months after. And it’s the first phone (and the only one so far) to have coffee grounds as its back cover material.

Not to confuse with the Spanish fashion brand LOEWE, LOEWE. (yes, with a period) is a German brand that specializes in tech design and CMF (Color, Materials, Finish).

READ: TECNO reveals the first ever phone with coffee grounds back cover

Then again, not to complicate things even further but for utmost clarification, “CMF” is also an official sub-brand of the Nothing brand.

With all that info dump out of the way, I must say that the newest iteration of the CAMON series instantly caught my eye.

CAMON 16 Premier, CAMON 18 Premier, CAMON 19 Pro Mondrian, CAMON 20 Pro Mr. Doodle Edition, CAMON 30 Premier LOEWE. Design Edition • Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

It might be a bold and controversial statement but the jump from CAMON 17, 18, 19, and 20 to CAMON 30 has been one of the biggest glow-ups I’ve seen in any smartphone EVER.

It’s daring yet still elegant. A true definition of a “Premier”-looking hardware.

I also like how TECNO made the CAMON 30 line quite different by placing that circular camera design at the utmost left side as opposed to most brands with a centered rear camera island.

The subtle hump at the upper part reminds me of the grip found on traditional cameras.

Additionally, its circular camera cutout with concentric design and ridges are all reminiscent of camera lenses and its barrel design. More so, the focus ring.

Dubbed as the “Smart Breathing Light”,

To give the CAMON 30 Premier that complete ~ camera aesthetic ~, it even has this red light indicator.

It shows up whenever you record videos, charge the phone, use the phone as a voice assistant, and even as a remote control. BTW, the phone is one among the few that features an IR Blaster.

When held, it feels like any other premium flagship — especially with that solid unibody aerospace-grade metal frame.

It manages to be lightweight at just 210 grams and slim at a mere 7.9mm.

The flat sides may be preferential for ergonomics. But as someone with big hands, my hand barely felt sore even after prolonged use.

That extra thickness at the camera part also makes it grippier. Again, like grips on conventional cameras.

Finally, the overall feel is excellent. I personally prefer this faux leather texture over a glass back. There’s no need for that additional case in the box.

And as someone who’s a die-hard coffee lover, I fully appreciate its back cover made from discarded coffee grounds.

That’s truly an innovative and sustainable way to use something that’s already been discarded into something more delightful and useful both in form and function.

C’mon, CAMON

I’ve read somewhere that CAMON means “CAMera ON”.

Whether or not it is the real meaning behind the brand’s midrange line, it easily tells us the main highlight of the latest CAMON line of smartphones — whether it’s in the design or feature standpoint.

On paper, the TECNO CAMON 30 Premier packs a quad 50MP camera setup:

Triple The Lenses

I commend TECNO for featuring a true triple camera system at its back.

Instead of having an absurd macro or depth sensor, it’s great to have that extra periscope telephoto lens considering its overall market value.

3x is my sweet spot for smartphone zoom. I love how TECNO equipped it instead of 2x or 5x units.

If 3x photos already look good, how much more do we expect with shots taken in the regular 1x mode?

Shooting with the phone felt snappy. I barely noticed any shutter stutter.

Notice the fine fur of these cutie cattos? Mind you, these were shot indoors and during the night time.

Its 114-degree Ultra-Wide Angle (UWA) lens also does the job well done.

Color consistency is the usual problem I encounter when testing out smartphone cameras priced in this category.

Ultra-Wide (14mm) vs 1x Wide (23mm)

Surprisingly, the CAMON 30 Premier delivered consistent results all throughout.

1x Wide (23mm) vs 3x Zoom (70mm)

1x Wide (23mm) vs 3x Zoom (70mm)

Triple the Looks

With color talk already mentioned, let’s dig in further on the phone’s color science.

Much like any other camera-focused smartphone, the CAMON 30 Premier isn’t an exemption.

Other than the default Standard Mode, there are two more color calibration options: Bright and CAMON.

From the naming itself, Standard Mode gives that standard, flat look. Much closer to what our naked eyes see.

Meanwhile, Bright Mode color boosts photos — especially if vibrant shots are your cup of tea.

Lastly, there’s a signature CAMON Mode that tones down highlights, shadows, contrast, and saturation altogether. Furthermore, it gives that special faded feel.

Here are extra samples for you to clearly differentiate each mode mentioned.

Full-On Foodgasm

My true recommendation when shooting food photos using the CAMON 30 Premier? Always pick Bright Mode to fully make food scrumptious.

Don’t worry, the color look is applicable even when you switch to either UWA or Zoom.

Nifty Night Mode

Ever since Night Mode became a staple camera feature in smartphones, it’s also now a huge dealbreaker to consumers who are nitpicky when it comes to smartphone cameras — myself included.

Night Mode OFF vs ON

From my standpoint, TECNO didn’t overdo its night mode processing algorithms that I usually complain in some brands — Samsung being notorious for this issue.

There’s a fair share of exposure, contrast, saturation, and sharpness without overdoing each.

Taken with Bright Mode

Taken with Standard Mode

This last photo was even taken through the bus’ slightly dirty window.

Taken with CAMON Mode

The Power of Portrait

The CAMON 30 Premier also has another noteworthy camera addition.

Its Portrait Mode interface includes four (4) focal length choices mimicking actual camera lenses: 23mm (regular 1x wide), 35mm + 50mm (cropped), and 70mm (3x periscope telephoto).

It works excellent during daytime (and during in action).

Its charm also works when there’s barely any source of natural light.

It’s not even limited to human subjects as it does the job well on food and inanimate objects.

Stand Out Selfies

With Portrait Mode out of the way, lets flip the phone to the front to reveal its 50MP selfie snapper.

Although satisfaction with the front camera quality will always vary depending on the user, my friends told me they all looked natural and are post-worthy.

Beautification features are present for those who prefer them. You can even opt the sparkle bokeh to add glitz and make it look extra fancy.

Tap that expand icon and you’ll get an ever wider FoV meant for groufies and couple-fies.

Exemplary for Entertainment

With the front of the CAMON 30 Premier already revealed, it’s best to showcase its 6.77-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate.

TECNO has also decided to ship this with a 1.5K display resolution. They say it’s the best solution to achieve clarity of a 2K Quad HD+ (2160p) display but keeping the battery-efficiency of Full HD+ (1080p) screens.

For outdoor use, it’s visible and legible enough with its 1400 nits of peak brightness. Colors are also popping thanks to its 1 Billion Colors support. Additionally, it has an optical in-display fingerprint scanner that’s decent enough and unlocks the phone for around one to two (1~2) seconds.

I’m glad TECNO has decided to ship this with a flat panel. It may just be my preference but seriously, curved displays are already out of trend.

Having a flat display not only makes it better for overall usability, it’s also easier to slap on your preferred tempered glass for full-on protection. And speaking of protection, its front panel is protected by Gorilla Glass 5.

Also, the bezels are impressively thin for the category it belongs to.

Other than its astonishing display, the sound produced by this smartphone is superb.

Loudspeaker sessions with this device is so enjoyable thanks to its stereo speaker system with Dolby Atmos.

One of my fave BTS songs — way before they became globally mainstream

And as an Apple Music patron, I get to enjoy songs in the streaming platform more when the songs I listen to are also available in the Dolby Atmos format.

Pro-formance

TECNO’s CAMON 30 Premier is equipped with MediaTek’s Dimensity 8200 Ultimate SoC based on the 4nm process.

It also comes in a lone configuration: 512GB UFS 3.1 storage + 12GB LPDDR5 memory.

For most of the light tasks like social media usage and multitasking, the CAMON 30 Premier isn’t a sloucher.

But I know most of you are curious to find out how it performs when it comes to gaming.

When it comes to usual titles such as Asphalt Legends Unite (formerly Asphalt 9: Legends), gameplay should be lag-free.

The case is the same when playing another “Unite” game (Pokémon UNITE).

Call of Duty: Mobile (CoDM) can also run the game in a very high graphic setting.

But as expected, this chipset hinders the phone from running heavy titles and runs in Medium to Low graphic setting by default.

Those include Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, and even Zenless Zone Zero.

I’m not saying turning the High Boost feature will solve your gaming dilemma, but at times, it can be helpful if you wanted to run games above its limits. Just expect worse battery drain and heat buildup when you do so.

Reliable Battery and Charging

With battery drain already in the topic, the 5000mAh battery of the CAMON 30 Premier can still last me a full day of moderate use. More than a day (or two) when lightly used.

As previously mentioned, battery will deplete more when you use it for heavy tasks such as gaming or consistent camera usage.

But if you’re already in a pinch, its bundled 70W Ultra Charge adapter saves the day!

In my usual GadgetMatch Charge Test, I’ve managed to fill the phone under an hour. Moreover, using a third-party charger might not enable that “Ultra Charge” tech but it still supports Fast Charging.

Here are the detailed results:

That 16-minute gap between the two fast charging protocols may not matter to most of you, but it’s also to inform people that the phone only uses its full fast-charging capabilities if one uses its proprietary charger and cable.

If you’re dependent on wireless charging, this phone doesn’t have it.

Software Knick-Knacks

The CAMON 30 Premier runs HiOS 14 based on Android 14 out of the box. Although these are not unique software features, it’s still a good section to separate.

As already introduced in some TECNO phones, there’s the Dynamic Port (a la iPhone’s Dynamic Island feature) that shows animations on the punch hole.

That includes Face Unlocking as well as the charging indicator teased on the previous photo

Lock screen customization isn’t any different to other Android skins. You can now pick between different clock styles, fonts, and even choose color based on your liking.

How can I forget Always-On Display styles — one featuring this fluffy catto that pops up when the device is in idle.

Another added feature is the AI Wallpaper Generator. TECNO provides six (6) free wallpaper generators per day.

It may be fun for some but IMHO, regardless of which smartphone manufacturer it is, I find this feature to be more gimmick-y.

Depending on your input, it’s either a hit or miss. In my case, the capybara looks more like a guinea pig.

But I digress. After all, I sometimes call capys as ✨ Guinea BIG ✨.

Although I barely used this feature since 12GB RAM feels sufficient enough for my needs, TECNO also includes the MemFusion virtual memory feature that extends memory to a total of 24GB using the internal storage.

Also a handy-dandy software trick: swiping a single-running app from the app switcher in either left or right transforms it into pop-up mode or split-screen view respectively.

Premier Packaging

Reaching this point means you are still reading my write-up. If this phone has peaked your interest, here’s everything you should expect when you buy one.

@gadgetmatch Meet the TECNO Camon 30 Premier 5G LOEWE. Design Edition, the first ever phone with coffee grounds back cover! ☕️ #fyp #fypp #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #foryou #foryoupage #foryourpage ♬ Feel Good – Tundra Beats

Is the TECNO CAMON 30 Premier your GadgetMatch?

In the Philippines, the very special TECNO CAMON 30 Premier LOEWE. Design Edition retails for PhP 28,999 (and INR 54,999 in India). As of this writing, this specific collab is sold out.

Meanwhile, the regular Alpy Snowy Silver and Hawaii Lava Black colorways are currently marked down and priced at a cheaper PhP 23,999 / INR 39,999 price tag. This is around US$ 425 / EUR 383 / GBP 324 when directly converted.

There are lots of midrange smartphones out there. But the thing is, the CAMON 30 Premier is competitively priced — even lower than its counterparts with the same set of specs. (SEE: vivo V30 Pro and HONOR 200 Pro)

Despite the less hefty price tag, features weren’t compromised.

It has a superb screen, superior sound, decently-packed internals that make up for a smooth and snappy performance, large battery capacity with all-day usage plus pretty fast charging speeds.

Lastly, a capable set of cameras that are unrivaled for its category: Colors are consistent. Portraits, selfies, and even night shots make it a whole lot better.

All of that packed in a premium-built body that looks and feels solid — even beating other flagships (and its killers) to the core.

Overall, the TECNO CAMON 30 Premier is a great all-rounder and a true bang-for-the-buck mid-ranger. It is a worthy recipient of the GadgetMatch Seal of Approval.