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The Samsung M series has been an attempt by Samsung to regain some of its dwindling Indian market share that has been eaten away by Xiaomi and most recently Realme.
The Samsung Galaxy M30 was only launched in February this year, but Samsung is already updating it with an S model and it launches in the UK on November the 18th.
The phone has a massive upgrade from the previous Galaxy M30s switching from the Exynos 7904 to the Exynos 9611 which now features 4x Cortex-A73 cores @2.3 GHz and 4x Cortex-A53 cores @1.7 GHz, this does mean it can’t quite compete with the other two devices compared here, but I think for the price it is well worth your attention.
Price
I will point out the price first, as Samsung is the cheapest, so its sub-par chipset compared to the other two phones is justifiable. This is up for pre-order from Amazon for just £229.00 with 6GB/128GB
The Redmi Note 8 Pro is £240 for 6GB/64GB while the Xiaomi Mi 9T 6GB/64GB is £267.00.
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung Galaxy M30s Blue Smartphone - SIM Free Mobile Phone... | Buy on Amazon |
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redmi Note 8 pro 6+64GB ARM Mali G76 MC4 6.53inch 45oomAh... | £329.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| Preview | Product | Rating | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xiaomi Mi 9T Dual Sim 64GB 6GB RAM Carbon Black |
£350.00 | Buy on Amazon |
CPU
The Samsung can’t really compete, but it is no slouch either, it sits somewhere between the Snapdragon 665 and the Snapdragon 712 in terms of benchmarks.
The Redmi Note 8 Pro has the most powerful chipset with the Mediatek Helio G90T (12nm) which is great for gaming.
Then the Xiaomi Mi 9T uses the Snapdragon 730, this is the none G model so it isn’t quite as powerful.
Camera
The Samsung has a solid camera for the money including:
- 48 MP, f/2.0, (wide), 1/2″, 0.8µm, PDAF
- 8 MP, f/2.2, 12mm (ultrawide)
- 5 MP, f/2.2, depth sensor
Both the Xiaomi devices outclass it with their hardware, but I wonder what the end results are like, Samsung are well know for the image quality on their flagship devices and the software processing goes a long way.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro has
- 64 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1/1.7″, 0.8µm, PDAF
- 8 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4″, 1.12µm
- 2 MP, f/2.4, 1/5″, 1.75µm (dedicated macro camera)
- 2 MP, f/2.4, 1/5″, 1.75µm, depth sensor
While the Xiaomi Mi 9T has
- 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2″, 0.8µm, PDAF
- 8 MP, f/2.4, 53mm (telephoto), 1/4″, 1.12µm, PDAF, 2x optical zoom
- 13 MP, f/2.4, 12mm (ultrawide), 1/3″, 1.12µm
Battery
The Samsung has possibly the largest battery in the industry (ignoring random Chinese brands) at 6000mah which should last you two full days at least.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro has an impressive 4500mAh, but that’s still 25% smaller than the Samsung.
Finally, the Xiaomi Mi 9T has a 4000 mAh battery
Overall
Ok, so the Samsung doesn’t quite compete overall, but the other two phones are more expensive. The Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro still probably represents better value for money, the price isn’t that far apart and you get a lot more phone for the price.
I perhaps should have chosen other phones at a similar price point. If you look at the popular Motorola moto g7 which costs £220 you get a Snapdragon 632, 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage and a dual camera.
Comparison Table
| Samsung Galaxy M30s | Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro | Xiaomi Mi 9T | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 159 x 75.1 x 8.9 mm (6.26 x 2.96 x 0.35 in) | 161.4 x 76.4 x 8.8 mm (6.35 x 3.01 x 0.35 in) | 156.7 x 74.3 x 8.8 mm (6.17 x 2.93 x 0.35 in) |
| Weight | 188 g (6.63 oz) | 200 g (7.05 oz) | 191 g (6.74 oz) |
| Build | Front glass, plastic body | Front/back glass (Gorilla Glass 5) | Front/back glass, aluminum frame |
| SIM | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) | Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) | Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by) |
| Type | Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors | IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors | AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors |
| Size | 6.4 inches, 100.5 cm2 (~84.2% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.53 inches, 104.7 cm2 (~84.9% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.39 inches, 100.2 cm2 (~86.1% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~403 ppi density) | 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~395 ppi density) | 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~403 ppi density) |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | Corning Gorilla Glass 5 | |
| 420 nits max brightness | 500 nits max brightness | HDR | |
| HDR | |||
| OS | Android 9.0 (Pie); One UI | Android 9.0 (Pie); MIUI 10 | Android 9.0 (Pie); MIUI 10 |
| Chipset | Exynos 9611 (10nm) | Mediatek Helio G90T (12nm) | Qualcomm SDM730 Snapdragon 730 (8 nm) |
| CPU | Octa-core (4x2.3 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4x1.7 GHz Cortex-A53) | Octa-core (2x2.05 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) | Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Kryo 470 Gold & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 470 Silver) |
| GPU | Mali-G72 MP3 | Mali-G76 MC4 | Adreno 618 |
| Card slot | microSD, up to 1 TB (dedicated slot) | microSD, up to 256 GB (uses shared SIM slot) | No |
| Internal | 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM | 64GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM | 64GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM |
| UFS2.1 | UFS2.1 | ||
| Rear Camera | 48 MP, f/2.0, (wide), 1/2", 0.8µm, PDAF | 64 MP, f/1.9, 26mm (wide), 1/1.7", 0.8µm, PDAF | 48 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2", 0.8µm, PDAF |
| 8 MP, f/2.2, 12mm (ultrawide) | 8 MP, f/2.2, 13mm (ultrawide), 1/4", 1.12µm | 8 MP, f/2.4, 53mm (telephoto), 1/4", 1.12µm, PDAF, 2x optical zoom | |
| 5 MP, f/2.2, depth sensor | 2 MP, f/2.4, 1/5", 1.75µm (dedicated macro camera) | 13 MP, f/2.4, 12mm (ultrawide), 1/3", 1.12µm | |
| 2 MP, f/2.4, 1/5", 1.75µm, depth sensor | |||
| Features | LED flash, panorama, HDR | LED flash, HDR, panorama | Dual-LED flash, HDR, panorama |
| Video | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, 720p@960fps, gyro-EIS | 2160p@30fps, 1080p@30/120/240fps, 1080p@960fps |
| Front | 16 MP, f/2.0 | 20 MP, f/2.0, 0.9µm | Motorized pop-up 20 MP, f/2.2, 0.8µm |
| Features | HDR | HDR, panorama | HDR |
| Video | 1080p@30fps | 1080p@30fps | 1080p@30fps |
| Loudspeaker | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 3.5mm jack | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic | Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic | 24-bit/192kHz audio | |
| Dolby Atmos sound | Active noise cancellation with dedicated mic | ||
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE | 5.0, A2DP, LE | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX HD |
| GPS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS |
| NFC | Yes | Yes | |
| Infrared port | No | Yes | No |
| Radio | FM radio, RDS, recording | FM radio, recording | FM radio |
| USB | 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector | 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector | 2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, USB On-The-Go |
| Sensors | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Non-removable Li-Po 6000 mAh battery | Non-removable Li-Po 4500 mAh battery | Non-removable Li-Po 4000 mAh battery | |
| Charging | Fast battery charging 15W | Fast battery charging 18W | Fast battery charging 18W |
| Colors | Opal Black, Sapphire Blue, Pearl White | Black, Red, Blue, White | Carbon black, Red flame, Glacier blue |
| Price | $ 269.00 / £ 216.90 / ₹ 13,999 | $ 210.12 / £ 182.00 | $ 278.99 / £ 255.49 / ₹ 19,999 |
I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.
Last update on 2024-04-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
