The intense competition within the smartphones market, mainly up to 500 dollars devices, has led Samsung to launch the Galaxy-J7 (2016). The device is said to have excellent hardware performance and an affordable price
Screen:
The J7 has a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen, suitable for those who want a sufficiently large screen. Although not equipped with Full HD, and sharpness & colors do not match the expensive devices, but fear not – the relatively low resolution prolongs battery life. We noticed the lack of lighting sensor which enables adjustment of rear lighting intensity to the surrounding, apparently Samsung decided to leave that one out. However Samsung did insert manual lighting mode for use in direct sunlight, amplifying the rear lighting and allows comfortable usage of the device.
Design:
Although mostly made out of plastic, the J7 appearance transcends its price with a silver metal frame, giving it a more luxurious look. The width of the device is reasonable – 7.8mm, while its weight 170 grams.
Interface:
Similarly to other Samsung smartphones, the J7 also has TouchWiz interface. The OS is Android Marshmallow (6.0.1), a stable version that offers access to various Samsung services through Galaxy Apps or Microsoft Office preinstalled apps.
Hardware:
Although at the lower price category, the J7 performances get the work done using a 1.6GHZ octa-core 7870 Exynos processor, 2GB RAM and 16GB built in storage (microSD up to 128GB). Most users will find the device’s performances satisfactory, we did not encounter any lags or response time problems during our usage. You won’t find the NFC technology, which recently became relevant in Israel, especially for Cellular payment (currently through Leumi Card).
Camera:
In the photographing category, the J7 only partially suffices. The camera is turned on quickly by double tapping the home button. Main camera is 13MP with 1.9/f lens and LED flash. Daylight photos get enough lighting with reasonable details, but the colors are pretty poor. When shooting indoor the photos came out a bit smudged. The selfie camera is 5MP, with moderate results and poor detailing. This camera also has front flash for dark selfies, although it comes out glaring.
Battery:
The J7 has one of the best batteries in the market. With 3300 mAh capacity, we got to 30% at midnight, and the battery was fully drained only the next midday. The connection is micro USB, and although without fast charge technology, Samsung did made the battery removable.
Bottom line is – at 1,550 Shekels Samsung provides an excellent product, including a large, good quality screen, hardware performances that satisfies most users, mediocre camera and a powerful battery.