I recently feel quite indifferent, especially for the old camera phone. Last month, I Nokia 9 praised the purview For your unique camera setup that makes every shot a adventure. Me too Again on LG G4A phone that sprinkled my love for photography. However, there is another old Android camera phone Whenever possible I still take it around.

In its head, Huawei P30 Pro was Best Android Phone Could buy money. Sure, this is just my opinion, but a lot of evidence supports it. It was a durable and relatively compact compared to today’s phone. It had simple styling, fast performance and excellent battery life yet.

Five years later as my loyal daily driver, its age began to appear. Battery health declined, and I received its final update in mid -2023. It is still stuck on Android 10, and there is no hope of new software versions or security upgradation.

I had to upgrade, though reluctantly. There was a phone to fill that void Samsung Galaxy S24 FeOur review of 2024 fan edition phones was positive, and my experience has been equally solid. Despite the bad battery life, average performance and heavy footprint, it is a competent upgrade that will be supported for years. I also have a pixel 8, which I love for its small size and swift operation.

Importantly, both devices are capable pocket cameras in themselves. I have enjoyed endless in capturing road scenes and scenarios with Pixel 8, while the Galaxy is excels as a point-end portrait camera for family and friends. However, both phones are behind the P30 Pro in an important aspect: zoom.

It can be half a decade larger than Samsung and Google phones, which I changed it, but Huawei still performs better than both, takes objects far away and brings them closer to me. On paper, 8MP 5X optical and 50x digital periscope lenses seem modest and old, but I miss it very much when the phone is not within access.

This feeling was particularly clear during a recent road trip. I usually toss some phones in my bag before going to adventure, and this time I brought Galaxy, Pixel and PureViews. After spending a lot of trips to capture the ground level subjects, I changed my idea to the top of a building, where a rapter was prepared. I caught Samsung – the only phone with a dedicated zoom lens – and zoom. Despite his 3x optical and 30x digital zoom, the phone could not bring me closer to my avian theme. It soon flew away, and I regretted leaving the P30 Pro at home.

Spending less time with P30 Pro has made me realize how important periscope capabilities are for me on smartphones, not only for photography. Capturing a bird or plant identification app increases the possibility of an accurate hit in a bird or plant identity app. Using lenses or Circle to search for other objects It is also easy to use through Google photos on my primary phone. Long -term zoom provides more utility, which is unavoidable for my phone usage habits.

I have learned my lesson since then. I keep the P30 Pro with me, if I need it. Despite its age, it still works great as a backup phone, despite its increasing issues. I have not reset it, so all my apps and files are still collected safely on it. Its 256GB storage bank also comes in handy for offline file storage.

Nevertheless, my recent experiences without a phone have taught me two valuable lessons. First of all, I cannot imagine buying a phone in the future without a competent zoom lens. Sure, I can use my 70-300 mm zoom lens on my D3400 and perhaps more often, but I do not always have a comparatively heavy DSLR camera. The facility comes at a price.

Second, old hardware often crosses modern innovation. P30 Pro is proof of this. If the phone still received a regular update, I would not have considered upgrading. Now that it is not my daily driver, I don’t care that it is running the old version of Android. But, thanks to its stellar access, it earns its place among my current equipment.