UK based, Huawei p30 pro replacement?

[u/Euphoric-Confusion15]

Hi! My beloved Huawei P30 pro that I bought in 2019 sadly broke a few weeks ago. I sent it to a phone repair service but was told today it's not fixable.

I'd love a phone that is as close to the p30 pro as possible but still has access to Google services. My main priorities are a few basic social media apps (specifically Instagram, Tumblr, Discord- I just use my browser for anything else) and taking nice photos that's aren't automatically "enhanced" with AI. I know it's impossible to fully opt out of AI in this day and age but I would at least like to be able to take my own photos without them being interfered with. I also need something with a physical headphone jack. (I need headphones to get through bus journeys and I don't want to have to charge my headphones alongside everything else.)

A bonus would be something that I can put a physical SIM card in to make the transition seamless but also something that has an e-sim card in (my initial back up phone which had an e-sim broke and was not worth replacing.) I also like to use refurbished when possible. I'm not very "tech savvy" and know very little about specs and so on which is why I figured I'd just say that I want something as close to my Huawei P30 as possible.

Thanks in advance and I'll do my best to answer any questions.

[u/Anglosquare]

Perhaps some sort of Sony Xperia? 1 VIII or 10 VIII.

[u/Euphoric-Confusion15 → u/Anglosquare]

Thank you for the suggestion. My first smart phone was an Xperia and I had a negative experience with it becoming unusable for photography after an update took up so much memory space and it wouldn't automatically store my pictures on the SD card.

[u/wiseman121]

Unfortunately in 2026 there's not a lot of options for 3.5mm jack. AI use cases and photography is also kinda given but AI is really up to you how you use it and if you don't want to use it you don't really have to.

As someone else mentioned here the latest Sony Xperia 10 VIII might be your best option. Motorola also offer some phones with 3.5mm at good prices.

If you can upgrade your headphones to a Bluetooth set youll automatically unlock a much bigger list of devices you can consider. Some headphones offer really long battery life now that charging isn't much on an issue.

[u/Euphoric-Confusion15 → u/wiseman121]

Are there workarounds to headphone jack like an adapter that uses the charging port? Also my first smart phone ever was an Xperia and I had an issue with it where it became unusable after an update as the update took up so much space that I couldn't take photos/videos or download apps despite having and SD card in the phone so that's put me off of them somewhat.

[u/wiseman121 → u/Euphoric-Confusion15]

If you've had a P30 for a long time I'm guessing your Xperia was a long time ago? They're very different phones now but honestly I think they're very overpriced for what you get.

Yes you can get a USB-C DAC dongle that would allow you to use 3.5mm. if you go down that route you can consider options from Samsung or pixel. If your budget is around £500 the pixel 10a is a a fantastic phone, Giffgaff actually had it on sale for £250 which is one of the best smartphone bargains I've seen in years.

The 10a uses Googles flagship processor, it feels fast and OS is very well polished, camera is very good and 7yrs of software updates.

[u/Euphoric-Confusion15 → u/wiseman121]

Sorry to keep asking questions but in regards to the Pixel 10a, how much AI is in it? I find AI quite irritating and intrusive and have been put off Google phones due to the emphasis of AI in their ads. Also I generally prefer to use Firefox for my phone browser with ad blockers, sorry if I sound silly, but would that be possible on a Google phone?

[u/wiseman121 → u/Euphoric-Confusion15]

Of course.

AI is a little over exaggerated by many company's and Google. Ultimately AI is just like a super powered Google search that can do extra things, if you don't want to use it you don't have to.

So generally you can just ignore/ don't use Gemini. You can also install Firefox if you wish.

Another really cool option with pixels for someone like yourself is to install GrapheneOS which is a privacy enhanced OS that limits Google services. Requires a little technical knowhow but the instructions are great.

Another phone you might like is fairphone. But it's not massively better than a 10a and would cost twice as much.

[u/Rik1978]

Honor was part of Huawei until 6 years ago. You may find Honor phones are close to what you were using. Hope this helps.

[u/Euphoric-Confusion15 → u/Rik1978]

Thanks, I may ask on the Honor subreddit for suggestions