Hisense U30 quietly lands at CES: Yet another 48MP phone with punch-hole camera

Hisense isn’t nearly as popular as other Chinese brands like Huawei and Xiaomi, but it’s amassed a few respectable mid-range devices over the years. Now, the company has quietly revealed the Hisense U30, and it seems to tick plenty of boxes for a 2019 device.

The phone, spotted by XDA, packs a 6.3-inch full HD+ display with a punch-hole camera. This is just the latest device to jump on the display hole bandwagon, and we’re looking at a 20MP shooter here.

The outlet says there’s a “noticeable smear” near the display hole, as well as an artifact in the top right. For what it’s worth, the screen is purportedly made by display company Tianma. Hopefully these issues are restricted to pre-production units rather than teething issues that extend to production devices.

The Hisense U30 also features a 48MP+5MP rear camera pairing, joining the likes of Huawei and Xiaomi in offering a phone with a 48MP rear camera. The main reason to use the 48MP sensor is due to the high resolution for daytime shots, but manufacturers can also make use of pixel-binning to deliver better low-light shots (weighing in at 12MP).

In terms of horsepower, the device is packing 6GB to 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of non-expandable storage. Hisense also says the phone is offering the SM6150 chipset — a Qualcomm spokesperson told XDA that this was simply the code-name for the Snapdragon 675.

In other words, it looks like we’ve got a phone meant for the upper mid-range segment, delivering plenty of power and several trendy features (punch hole camera and 48MP sensor). Toss in a 4,500mAh battery, Quick Charge 4.0, a fingerprint scanner, and a “cowhide” rear cover, and you’ve got a pretty intriguing package.

The Hisense U30 is only expected to launch in March 2019, and will reportedly be released in China, Russia, and several European countries. Would you buy a Hisense phone? Let us know in the comments!

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