SAMSUNG J5

SAMSUNG GALAXY J5 (2017) SMARTPHONE WAS LAUNCHED IN JUNE 2017. THE PHONE COMES WITH A 5.20-INCH TOUCHSCREEN DISPLAY WITH A RESOLUTION OF 720 PIXELS BY 1280 PIXELS.

THE SAMSUNG GALAXY J5 (2017) IS POWERED BY 1.6GHZ OCTA-CORE EXYNOS 7870 PROCESSOR AND IT COMES WITH 2GB OF RAM. THE PHONE PACKS 16GB OF INTERNAL STORAGE THAT CAN BE EXPANDED UP TO 256GB VIA A MICROSD CARD. AS FAR AS THE CAMERAS ARE CONCERNED, THE SAMSUNG GALAXY J5 (2017) PACKS A 13-MEGAPIXEL PRIMARY CAMERA ON THE REAR AND A 13-MEGAPIXEL FRONT SHOOTER FOR SELFIES.

THE SAMSUNG GALAXY J5 (2017) RUNS ANDROID 7.0 AND IS POWERED BY A 3000MAH NON REMOVABLE BATTERY. IT MEASURES 146.30 X 71.30 X 7.90 (HEIGHT X WIDTH X THICKNESS) .

THE SAMSUNG GALAXY J5 (2017) IS A DUAL SIM (GSM AND GSM) . CONNECTIVITY OPTIONS INCLUDE WI-FI, GPS, BLUETOOTH AND 4G. SENSORS ON THE PHONE INCLUDE PROXIMITY SENSOR.

NETWORK	TECHNOLOGY	GSM / HSPA / LTE

LAUNCH	ANNOUNCED	2015, JUNE
	STATUS	AVAILABLE. RELEASED 2015, JUNE

BODY	DIMENSIONS	142.1 X 71.8 X 7.9 MM (5.59 X 2.83 X 0.31 IN)
	WEIGHT	146 G (5.15 OZ)
	BUILD	PLASTIC BODY
	SIM	SINGLE SIM (MICRO-SIM) OR DUAL SIM (MICRO-SIM, DUAL STAND-BY)

DISPLAY	TYPE	SUPER AMOLED CAPACITIVE TOUCHSCREEN, 16M COLORS
	SIZE	5.0 INCHES, 68.9 CM2 (~67.5% SCREEN-TO-BODY RATIO)
	RESOLUTION	720 X 1280 PIXELS, 16:9 RATIO (~294 PPI DENSITY)
	MULTITOUCH	YES

PLATFORM	OS	ANDROID 5.1 (LOLLIPOP), UPGRADABLE TO 6.0.1 (MARSHMALLOW)
	CHIPSET	QUALCOMM MSM8916 SNAPDRAGON 410
	CPU	QUAD-CORE 1.2 GHZ CORTEX-A53
	GPU	ADRENO 306

MEMORY	CARD SLOT	MICROSD, UP TO 256 GB (DEDICATED SLOT)
	INTERNAL	8/16 GB, 1.5 GB RAM

CAMERA	PRIMARY	13 MP (F/1.9, 28MM), AUTOFOCUS, LED FLASH
	FEATURES	GEO-TAGGING, TOUCH FOCUS, FACE DETECTION
	VIDEO	1080P@30FPS
	SECONDARY	5 MP (F/2.2, 23MM), LED FLASH

SOUND	ALERT TYPES	VIBRATION; MP3, WAV RINGTONES
	LOUDSPEAKER	YES
	3.5MM JACK	YES
		- ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLATION WITH DEDICATED MIC

COMMS	WLAN	WI-FI 802.11 B/G/N, WI-FI DIRECT, HOTSPOT
	BLUETOOTH	4.1, A2DP
	GPS	YES, WITH A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
	NFC	YES (MARKET DEPENDENT)
	RADIO	FM RADIO, RDS, RECORDING
	USB	MICROUSB 2.0, USB ON-THE-GO

FEATURES	SENSORS	ACCELEROMETER, PROXIMITY
	MESSAGING	SMS(THREADED VIEW), MMS, EMAIL, PUSH MAIL, IM
	BROWSER	HTML5
		- ANT+ SUPPORT - MP4/WMV/H.264 PLAYER - MP3/WAV/WMA/EAAC+/FLAC PLAYER - PHOTO/VIDEO EDITOR - DOCUMENT VIEWER

BATTERY		REMOVABLE LI-ION 2600 MAH BATTERY
	TALK TIME	UP TO 18 H (3G)
	MUSIC PLAY	UP TO 62 H

MISC	COLORS	WHITE, BLACK, GOLD
	SAR	0.80 W/KG (HEAD)     1.13 W/KG (BODY)
	SAR EU	0.61 W/KG (HEAD)     0.48 W/KG (BODY)
	PRICE	ABOUT 160 EUR

SAMSUNG  HAS BEEN TURNING HEADS FOR OVER A WHILE WITH ITS PREMIUM GALAXY S6 EDGE  AND THE RECENTLY LAUNCHED GALAXY S6 EDGE PLUS GLOBALLY. THE FLAGSHIPS  ARE DISTINCTIVELY DESIGNED, HAVE AMAZING CAMERAS, BRILLIANT DISPLAYS BUT  COME WITH A HEFTY PRICE TAG. HOWEVER, THE KOREAN TECH GIANT WAS  SOMEWHAT LOSING THE GAME IN THE BUDGET CATEGORY AS THERE WERE NO  POTENTIAL CONTENDERS FROM THE SMARTPHONE MAKER TO FIGHT THE LIKES OF  MOTO G, XIAOMI MI AND LENOVO'S SMARTPHONES.

THEREFORE, KNOWING THE FACT THAT THE SUB-15K PRICE CATEGORY IS ONE OF  THE HOTTEST IN THE INDIAN MARKET, SAMSUNG HAS INTRODUCED TWO AFFORDABLE  SMARTPHONES UNDER THE NEW GALAXY J SERIES IN THIS PRICE SEGMENT. PRICED  AT RS 14,999 AND RS 11,999, RESPECTIVELY, THE GALAXY J7 AND J5 FEATURE  DECENT SPECIFICATIONS AND WILL COMPETE WITH THE MYRIAD OF CHINESE AND  DOMESTIC SMARTPHONES THAT COMES AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE.

WE GOT THE YOUNGER SIBLING- THE GALAXY J5 FOR REVIEW AND THIS  SMARTPHONE SEEMS TO BE A VALUE FOR MONEY DEAL. SO, LET'S DIG DEEP AND  FIND OUT WHETHER THE SMARTPHONE IS A THREAT TO XIAOMI'S AND MOTO G'S  REIGN OR NOT.

SPECIFICATIONS:

DISPLAY: 5 INCH HD 1280X720P SUPER AMOLED DISPLAY, 294PPI  
OS: ANDROID LOLLIPOP 5.1.1  
CPU: 1.2 GHZ QUAD-CORE QUALCOMM SNAPDRAGON 410 RAM: 2GB  
STORAGE: 8GB (4.6GB USABLE)  
CAMERAS: 13MP (REAR), 5 MP (FRONT WITH LED FLASH)  
CONNECTIVITY: WI-FI, 3G/4G/2G, GPS, BLUETOOTH, MICROUSB  
BATTERY: 2,600MAH  
DIMENSIONS: 142.1X71.8X7.9 MM  
WEIGHT: 146 GRAMS  
PRICE: RS 11,999

DESIGN:

THE GALAXY J5 IS BUILT ON THE SAME DESIGN PHILOSOPHY OF SAMSUNG'S  EARLIER FLAGSHIP DEVICES SUCH AS THE GALAXY S4, S3 AND A NUMBER OF DUOS  SMARTPHONES. THE OLD DESIGN IS NOT VERY APPEALING, IS KIND OF MONOTONOUS  BUT IS QUITE PRACTICAL. YOU CAN REMOVE THE REAR PANEL TO REPLACE THE  BATTERY UNIT.I IT ALSO HOUSES TWO SIM CARD SLOTS AND ONE MICROSD CARD  SLOT. THE GLOSSY PLASTIC OF THE PREVIOUS GALAXY DEVICES HAS GONE. THE  MATTE FINISH REAR NOT ONLY PREVENTS FINGERPRINT SMUDGES, BUT FEELS GOOD  IN HANDS AS WELL.

THE CHROME METAL BAND RUNS AROUND THE EDGES AND SHINES A LOT, BUT  DOESN'T ADD A PREMIUM FEEL; SOMETHING WITH A SUBTLE TOUCH WOULD HAVE  ENHANCED THE OVERALL DESIGN. THE BAND HOUSES THE VOLUME ROCKERS (PLACED  ON LEFT SIDE), POWER ON/OFF BUTTON (PLACE ON RIGHT SIDE) AND A  MICROPHONE, USB CHARGING PORT AND THE 3.5MM HEADPHONE JACK AT THE  BOTTOM.

THE BUTTONS ARE RIGHTLY POSITIONED AND THE COMPACT SIZE OF THE GALAXY J5 GIVES IT A BETTER GRIP. YOUR THUMB CAN REACH ANY PART OF THE DISPLAY, MAKING IT QUITE COMFORTABLE TO OPERATE THE DEVICE EVEN WITH ONE HAND.

SAMSUNG GALAXY J'S CLOSEST RIVAL IS THE 3 RD GENERATION MOTO G, WHICH IS DEFINITELY A BETTER-LOOKING SMARTPHONE AND ALSO FEATURES IPX7 RATING THAT MAKES THE DEVICE DURABLE AND CONDUCIVE FOR ROUGH-AND-TOUGH USAGE. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST DESIGN SELLING POINTS FOR MOTO G WHICH IS MISSING ON THE GALAXY J5.

DISPLAY

CONSIDERING THE PRICE TAG, A DISPLAY WITH HD RESOLUTION (1280X720P) WOULD HAVE BEEN A STANDARD THING IF WE WERE IN 2014. BUT IN 2015, FULL-HD IS THE NORM AND SAMSUNG HAS FAILED TO OFFER THE BARE MINIMUM. THE KOREAN COMPANY HAS EQUIPPED THE GALAXY J5 WITH SUPER AMOLED DISPLAY THAT DELIVERS VIVID AND SATURATED COLOURS THAN THE PHONES AVAILABLE IN THIS PRICE BRACKET.

THE GALAXY J5 POSES NO MAJOR ISSUES ON THE VIEWING ANGLES FRONT, LARGELY  THANKS TO THE USE OF AMOLED PANELS WHICH DELIVERS A SOOTHING MULTIMEDIA  EXPERIENCE ESSENTIAL FOR USERS WITH TASTE FOR WATCHING MOVIES AND  PLAYING GAMES ON THEIR DEVICES. IT DOES NOT FEEL DULL AND WASHED OUT  LIKE THE LCD PANEL ON THE MOTO G 3   RD   GENERATION. THE SUNLIGHT LEGIBILITY IS ALSO DECENT AS THE DISPLAY HAS  ADEQUATE BRIGHTNESS TO MAKE CONTENT EASILY VISIBLE EVEN IN DIRECT  SUNLIGHT. 

THE SMARTPHONE IS POWERED BY A 1.2GHZ QUAD-CORE SNAPDRAGON 410 CPU AND  2GB RAM; SAME AS THE ASUS ZENFONE LASER AND THE MOTO G (2015).

THE GALAXY J5 POSES NO MAJOR ISSUES ON THE VIEWING ANGLES FRONT, LARGELY  THANKS TO THE USE OF AMOLED PANELS WHICH DELIVERS A SOOTHING MULTIMEDIA  EXPERIENCE ESSENTIAL FOR USERS WITH TASTE FOR WATCHING MOVIES AND  PLAYING GAMES ON THEIR DEVICES. IT DOES NOT FEEL DULL AND WASHED OUT  LIKE THE LCD PANEL ON THE MOTO G 3   RD   GENERATION. THE SUNLIGHT LEGIBILITY IS ALSO DECENT AS THE DISPLAY HAS  ADEQUATE BRIGHTNESS TO MAKE CONTENT EASILY VISIBLE EVEN IN DIRECT  SUNLIGHT. 

THE SMARTPHONE IS POWERED BY A 1.2GHZ QUAD-CORE SNAPDRAGON 410 CPU AND  2GB RAM; SAME AS THE ASUS ZENFONE LASER AND THE MOTO G (2015).

THE INTERNAL 8GB STORAGE FEELS A BIT LIMITED. HOWEVER, MICROSD CARDS OF  UP TO 128GB CAN BE USED TO FURTHER BOOST THE STORAGE CAPACITY THAT  SOLVES THE MEMORY ISSUES. IN TERMS OF CONNECTIVITY, THE GALAXY J5 OFFERS  TWO SIM CARD SLOTS THAT SUPPORT 4G LTE AND BEYOND THAT WE'RE TALKING  ABOUT CONVENTIONAL CONNECTIVITY FEATURES LIKE BLUETOOTH, WI-FI AND GPS  AVAILABLE ON THE DEVICE.

SAMSUNG GALAXY J5  UTILISES THE TOUCHWIZ UI BASED OVER ANDROID 5.1.1 LOLLIPOP ON THE  SOFTWARE SIDE OF THINGS. UNLIKE THE PREVIOUS VERSIONS OF TOUCHWIZ PRIOR  TO ANDROID 5.0 LOLLIPOP, THE ONE ON THE GALAXY J5 AND SOME  RECENTLY-LAUNCHED SAMSUNG SMARTPHONES FEELS A LOT REFINED AND FLUIDIC IN  TERMS OF DESIGN AND USABILITY. WE DID NOT COME ACROSS MAJOR RESPONSIVE  ISSUES WITH THE INTERFACE. ON THE WHOLE, WE WERE SATISFIED WITH THE WAY  THINGS SEEM TO HAVE IMPROVED WITH THE SOFTWARE.

LONG PRESSING HOME BUTTON OPENS UP THE GOOGLE NOW AND DOUBLE PRESS LEADS  TO THE CAMERA APP INSTEAD OF SAMSUNG'S S VOICE, WHICH IS GOOD AS THE  VOICE ASSISTANT IS SPARELY USED BY ANYONE. SAMSUNG HAS ALSO ADDED 'SMART  MANAGER,' WHICH IS BASICALLY A TOOL TO CHECK THE PERFORMANCE STATISTICS  OF THE DEVICE. YOU CAN CHECK BATTERY STATUS, STORAGE SPACE, MEMORY USED  BY THE APPS, ETC. AND IT ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO CLOSE THE APPS IN  BACKGROUND, DELETE UNUSED FILES AND RUN ANTIVIRUS CHECKS.

CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT CHINESE AS WELL AS DOMESTIC PLAYERS ARE  INVESTING A LOT ON CUSTOMISATION FEATURES, SAMSUNG HAS ALSO MADE ITS  THEME ENGINE QUITE POWERFUL. ALL IN ALL, WE FOUND THAT THE SOFTWARE ON  THE GALAXY J5 IS SNAPPY, FEELS MUCH IMPROVED AND DOESN'T MAKE THE  SMARTPHONE FEEL SLUGGISH.

THE COMBINATION OF SNAPDRAGON 410 CHIPSET AND 2GB RAM IS DECENT FOR A  MID-LEVEL PERFORMANCE. YOU CAN EASILY CHURN OUT A GOOD LEVEL OF  MULTITASKING WITH ABILITY TO RUN ALL THE APPLICATIONS IN THE PLAY STORE.  WE DID NOT ENCOUNTER ANY MAJOR ISSUES WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF THE  SMARTPHONE IN DAY-TO-DAY USAGE. 

WE ALSO RAN OUR USUAL SET OF BENCHMARKS AND YOU CAN CHECK THE  PERFORMANCE IN THE BELOW GRAPH. THOUGH THE SCORES SIGNIFIES THAT THE  GALAXY J5 IS NOT THE WINNER AMONG THE THREE BUT THE REAL LIFE  PERFORMANCE IS FAIRLY SMOOTH. THE MOTO G WINS THE GAME IN ALL THE TESTS  AND ALSO FEELS A BIT SMOOTHER IN REAL LIFE PERFORMANCES BECAUSE OF ITS  STOCK ANDROID NATURE.