Samsung ji 3 diagonal. Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) Review: The Budget Samsung That Could

2016 was a year of updates for most of the mobile range from the South Korean company Samsung. Changes have not bypassed the most diverse line of Galaxy J phones. In the Russian market, this budget series has about five models, and Samsung J3 2016 takes the place of the “golden mean” in it. Is it worthy samsung galaxy The J3 holds its own in its price range - let's find out in our smartphone review.

Key Features of Samsung Galaxy J3

It is quite logical that one should not expect something extremely surprising and amazing from the economy class among Samsung phones. The smartphone is significantly inferior not only to the simplest representative of the updated A-line of the same manufacturer, but even to its slightly older colleagues in the niche. However, you should not write it off so immediately. Indeed, for budget phones, the Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 shows quite good results.

Frame

Of course, it is unlikely that any budget model can boast of a body made of even a simple 2.5D glass. Galaxy J3 2016 is no exception. In general, its design is not original or special "style" - the phone looks quite simple, but it's not that cheap. The body of the updated smartphone, like its previous version, is made of plastic. The back panel of the gadget imitates a matte metal finish in one of the three available color schemes: standard white, universal black and very popular in last years golden. The side part is made in the form of a metal edging, which can mislead you a little and lead you to think that there really are aluminum inserts in the case. Unfortunately, it is not.

The design of the Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 is not much different from most models of the South Korean developer

The screen occupies most of the front panel. Below it are a mechanical button "Home", as well as touch "Context menu" and "Back". By the way, on the J7, the sensors, unlike most modern Samsung models, are visible all the time, and not just when backlit. On the this moment this is already a rarity and in later market representatives the company hides such controls. Above the screen is the front camera, speaker, proximity sensor and the Samsung logo. There are no flashes on the front camera, as you can see.

Phone parameters are 142 x 71 mm, its thickness is 7.8 mm. Weight - 138 g.

Screen

The smartphone cannot boast of a large screen size. Here it is only 5 inches. In addition, there is a small black frame around the entire perimeter of the working display, which cannot be removed in any way. However, this is quite enough for any work with the phone, and due to its small size, the device is comfortable to hold in your hand. The display resolution is 1280 x 720 pixels, which is a standard for budget and mid-range phones. Of course, the image on the Samsung Galaxy J3 does not compare with the same Galaxy S7. The cheapness of the gadget will show through in a few square silhouettes, not the sharpest edges of the image or pixels that you can even see with the naked eye. True, with special diligence.

In tests, the smartphone does not show the top results. Even among representatives of its own niche, it is often inferior to colleagues in terms of brightness and the number of colors that it can reflect. But this is not as critical as it might seem. Especially when you consider that the phone is from the most budgetary line of smartphones from Samsung, and even not its oldest model.

At the same time, the updated Galaxy J3 now has a Super AMOLED display, which means that, despite the weak technical savvy, the picture on the Galaxy J3 screen promises to be quite high-quality. This is immediately evident in the color accuracy rating, where the Delta E error is only 2.7, with an average of 3.2.

Photo gallery: smartphone test results

One of the obvious distinctive features The phone has an impressive Super-AMOLED display The color temperature of the display is somewhat high, but these are quite typical readings for all models from the South Korean developer The phone has a high brightness, which allows you to comfortably work with it not only indoors, but also outdoors
Among other things, the phone has a fairly wide viewing angle. Unfortunately, the Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 does not have auto-brightness, but the level of “illumination” of the display can be adjusted manually without any problems.

technical stuff

Processors Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 also do not differ in special characteristics. It has a Spreadtrum SC9830 quad-core chipset clocked at 1.5 GHz and a Mali-400 MP4 GPU. The smartphone performs standard and simple tasks quickly, without delays, reboots, various bugs and other things. However, it is worth turning to the South Korean offspring with a slightly more resource-intensive request, as the phone begins to notice noticeable difficulties. For complex work or “heavy” games, unfortunately, this smartphone is not intended.

In terms of software, the Galaxy J3 boasts Android Lollipop version 5.1.1 and Samsung's famous TouchWiz skin, which makes your device's interface easier to work with, as well as giving it a certain playfulness and personality.

Photo gallery: technical capabilities

In this mode, you can manually adjust things like white balance, ISO, exposure, and more.

Daytime shooting (+ photo)

The camera in the Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 behaves quite predictably for a budget phone camera. With practically ideal conditions good lighting and minimal shaking of hands or objects in the frame, the pictures come out clear, detailed, saturated and bright. The camera determines the light balance accurately, and the color reproduction is close to the original. However, as soon as at least one component of the “ideal” shooting disappears, the quality of the frames noticeably decreases, blurring appears, and color is lost. In addition, many users note that the phone sometimes takes too long to select the focus object.

Quality and detail in sufficient daylight show excellent results
It is more difficult to shoot people: the slightest movement - and part of the picture is blurry

Auto white balance works well too.
Color reproduction is very accurate despite overcast skies and no sun

Night shooting (+ photo)

In low light, indoors or at night, hope for good quality the shots you made are not worth it at all. Images immediately lose daylight detail, a large amount of noise appears, the pictures become more gray and nondescript. At the same time, autofocus noticeably slows down.

As soon as dusk falls, you can safely put your Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 in your pocket
At night, the detail of the pictures drops several times
Autofocus seems to be starting to seriously consider whether it's even worth trying to shoot something.

Macro mode, in general, behaves well even indoors. Of course, hope for a rich and bright photo not necessary, but the pictures come out at a decent level
If you want to get an unblurred picture indoors in normal mode, you will have to provide the phone with very serious stabilization.

But moving objects will not work with excellent detail

Video recording

The video story is the same. The phone records videos in 1020 x 720 resolution, i.е. only HD, the frame rate is 30 fps. With sufficient daylight, the results are pretty good even if it's not Full-HD. But at night the quality drops a lot.

Front-camera

Everything repeats with accuracy in the case of the front camera. The 5 megapixel lens produces acceptable results during the day and in well-lit areas. The Galaxy J3 2016 front camera does not have a built-in flash, so at night or in a room with dim light, you simply cannot take a selfie (not that high-quality, but at least distinguishable).

Despite the fact that the resolution of the front camera of the Samsung Galaxy J3 is less than that of the main one, the pictures taken with it sometimes come out much better.
But not always

Technologies and materials that only flagship owners could be proud of before are gradually becoming available to the mass consumer. For example, a metal case used to be used only in premium devices. Now many Chinese manufacturers are actively equipping their budget models with metal cases. And relatively recently, Samsung has opened a new trend: AMOLED screens in the budget segment of smartphones.

One of the owners of such a screen was the 2016 Samsung Galaxy J3 smartphone. There are at least 4 versions of this smartphone, which may differ slightly in some characteristics. Models relevant to our market - Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) SM-J320F/DS and SM-J320 H/DS, the first of which supports 4G, and the second is limited only by the data transfer rate in 3G networks. The cost of the device in branded stores is $ 183. The price is current at the time of writing.

You may also be interested in the updated J3 (2017), .

Specifications Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) J320

Specifications correspond to the budget segment of smartphones in 2016. The only exception is the display.

Design

Like it or not, Samsung does not want to change its traditions in terms of the design of budget smartphones. Still the same boring back panel.

All the same silver edging around the edges.

The touch control buttons located on the sides of the physical Home button are devoid of backlighting. In white and gold colors, the device looks a little fresher. The body itself is collapsible. The cover is made of soft-touch plastic, the device does not slip in the hands. Case dimensions: 71 x 142.3 x 7.9 mm, weight - 138 g.

CPU

Model SM-J320 F/DS is equipped with a Spreadtrum SC9830 processor, with 4 Cortex A7 cores and a maximum operating frequency of 1.5 GHz. Graphic chip - Mali-400 MP4. The synthetic AnTuTu test estimates the performance of the smartphone at about 24 thousand points.

In smartphone version SM-J320 H/DS is based on a similar chipset, but Spreadtrum SC8830, which does not support 4G networks.

The manufacturer installed a budget system on a chip. However, there are no problems with speed. The smartphone copes not only with typical daily tasks, the power of the hardware installed in it is also enough for 3D games.

Memory

The volume of permanent storage is 8 GB, part of this space will be occupied by the system. The remaining free space is enough to install the necessary applications, but there will be no freedom for fans to play resource-intensive 3D games. Fortunately, there is a slot for external drives format MicroSD up to 128 GB.

But with RAM, things are much more interesting. State employees mostly come with 1 or 2 GB of RAM. In this case, the amount of RAM is 1.5 GB, which is quite good: the smartphone can easily withstand such loads as the simultaneous launch of several applications. However, it is not the first time for Samsung to equip its devices with non-standard RAM.

Offline work

The capacity of the removable battery is 2600 mAh. This is enough for a day of moderately active use of the device. In networks with active web surfing, the battery will be discharged in about 5 hours. For those cases when the charge is running out, and the smartphone will not be connected to the outlet soon, there are modes of economical energy consumption and extreme energy saving. When activated, only basic functions will be available (phone, messages, social networks, clock), but the time battery life will be increased.

Camera

The main camera is equipped with an 8-megapixel sensor, with flash and autofocus. The camera interface contains various effects that can be applied while shooting. There is an HDR mode that allows you to take photos with a higher dynamic range. There is also an advanced mode for advanced users: manual settings for ISO, white balance and exposure compensation are available in it.

At good conditions for shooting, the camera demonstrates a good result: no noise, good color reproduction, correct auto-detection of white balance. But we were not lucky when shooting, in a lit room the pictures turned out to be useless. The detail of the pictures is lame. Demanding on photographic capabilities mobile devices users will notice not the fastest focus response speed. At night, as well as when shooting indoors, the quality of the photo drops noticeably, the appearance of noise and loss of detail cannot be avoided.

macro photography

The maximum resolution of the recorded video is HD (1280 x 720), with a frame rate of 30 FPS.See an example video below.

The 5 MP front camera is noticeably behind in image quality from the main camera. However, if desired, the user will be able to take quite acceptable selfies.

Display

The main advantage of the Galaxy J3 2016 is a 5-inch screen with HD resolution (1280 x 720), and a Super AMOLED matrix. This technology is famous for its excellent image properties: the user sees a rich, bright and contrasting picture. Viewing angles are excellent, the image remains well readable in the sun. In addition, such screens are energy efficient, which is a definite plus. The pixel density is 294 PPI.

The protective glass does not have an oleophobic coating. The smartphone does not have a light sensor, so you can only adjust the brightness manually. There is an "Outdoor" mode that temporarily increases the brightness of the display, which is very useful in sunny weather. Also in the settings there are several additional modes, when activated, the properties of the image will change.

Network communications

Dual SIM smartphone. Version SM-J320 F/DS can work in 2G/3G/4G networks, while the SM-J320 version H/DS does not support 4G networks. GPS / GLONASS navigation is supported, with the technology of accelerated search for A-GPS satellites. Bluetooth 4.0 modules and single-band Wi-Fi are responsible for wireless data transmission. The MicroUSB connector is equipped with an OTG function, which makes it possible to connect external USB peripherals.

Sound

The main speaker, located on the back of the case, performs its function properly: the volume margin is sufficient so as not to miss an important call. The speaker is also in order, you can hear it well. The headphones sound good, high-quality stereo sound, especially if you use headphones of good quality.

Software

Android 5.1 is installed as an OS on the smartphone, with Samsung's proprietary shell - TouchWiz. The shell interface is nice, it works very fast. Differences from the "bare" version of Android are a slightly redesigned interface and the presence of pre-installed applications from Samsung and Microsoft. It is also worth noting the presence of Smart Manager installed as a system utility, with which you can clear memory, manage energy saving, etc.

Distinctive features

With its Super AMOLED screen, the Galaxy J3 (2016) sets itself apart from its competitors. Let's add here a non-standard amount of RAM, the ability to install 128 GB flash drives, as well as an extreme energy saving mode.

Pros and cons of Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) J320

Pros:

• bright screen;
• support for 4th generation networks (depending on the version, see the section on network communications).

Minuses:

• low pixel density, low screen resolution;
• little built-in memory;
• weak processor.

Our review of the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) J320

Before us is a smartphone that is closer to the middle class in terms of price, although in fact it has a budget-level stuffing. Except for the display. Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) J320 will suit those users who need a relatively inexpensive dual-SIM smartphone with 4G (or 3G) from a well-known manufacturer, with a high-quality screen, good performance and a decent camera for non-artistic shooting.

Video review Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)

You will also like:

Samsung Review Galaxy J5 (2016) SM-J510FN, new version mid-range selfie background
Review of the smartphone Samsung Galaxy J5 2017 (SM-J530F): it's worth it

The design of the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) is made in a style that has become common to the entire line since 2017. The smartphone received soft, pastel colors and bright silver accents on the front and back panels.

The Galaxy J3 (2017) also has metal body elements, but there are fewer of them than other models in the line. The smartphone, in addition, turned out to be a little thicker than it should be - as a result, it lacks the nobility that the same Galaxy J5 (2017) acquired.

The front panel of the Galaxy J3 (2017) is covered with protective glass. Here, the accents are the Samsung logo, as well as the edging of the touch and virtual buttons at the bottom of the device.

There is a large metal tab on the back panel. You might think that this is a cover that can be removed. In fact, SIM and microSD are installed in the side compartments. Like the older models, the bright silver logo of the smartphone and the same edging of the photomodule stand out against a soft background.

The device is assembled with high quality, the materials are also at the level, but it still leaves the impression of a budget device, even if in its price range it will look better than many competitors. Perhaps a “silver” or black smartphone will look better than the “gold” one that came to us.

Connectors and controls

5-inch devices are quite ergonomic: they are easy to handle with one hand. All connectors and controls are well placed, but there are still exceptions.

On the front panel, under the screen, there is a hardware Home button. The other two Android buttons are touch sensitive. Although the Home button is the same size as the Galaxy J5 (2017) and J7 (2017), it is not combined with the fingerprint scanner. So the protection of the device is weaker.

Above the display is a speaker, a front camera lens and a backlight LED, which is analogous to a flash. You can also see a window with sensors.

On the back of the smartphone, we see a camera and a flash.

On the right sidewall there is a button to turn on the screen, as well as a slot with a speaker grill.

On the left side of the smartphone are two volume buttons. There are also two compartments for SIM-cards and memory cards.

The SIM and microSD slots are separated, so you can use all three cards at the same time. The compartments are opened with a rather long key. Our short video will tell you how to insert cards into Galaxy J3 (2017):

At the bottom we find a microphone, audio jack and microUSB. This arrangement may not be convenient for everyone and not always, especially when you want to listen to music through headphones and simultaneously charge your phone. However, this has already become a commonplace for modern smartphones, which are becoming thinner and thinner.

There is nothing on the top end.

We also note that the device will be easily controlled by both right-handed and left-handed people. The buttons are conveniently located.

Case for Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017)

It is not yet possible to buy a case or cover for the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017), at least at the time of writing this review. However, the company offers three cases at once for the older models of the line. They cost from 890 to 1390 rubles.

It can be expected that with Samsung time will offer accessories for the cheapest Galaxy J. Let's hope that they will cost less than for the "five" and "seven". The picture shows the Slim Cover bumper for the Galaxy J3 (2016). His company offers for 290 rubles.

Samsung Galaxy J3 Firmware Update (2017)

It is clear that the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) will receive an update to Android 8.0. I would even bet that Android 9.0 for the Galaxy J3 (2017) will be released. So a guide to flashing a smartphone will not be superfluous.

So, to flash the Galaxy J3 (2017), you need to do the following:

• and make sure that the smartphone has enough charge;
• enter the smartphone into Download Mode (simultaneously pressing the "off" + "volume down" + "home button" keys), then press "Volume up";
• connect the USB cable to the device;
• in the Odin application on your computer, select files from the archive with the firmware:
• for the PIT column - a file with *.pit extension;
• for PDA - a file whose name contains the word CODE, if there is none, then you should know that this is the heaviest file in the archive;
• for CSC - a file with the word CSC in its name;
• for Phone - a file containing MODEM in the name;
• Note. If the files for the CSC, Phone and PIT graphs are not in the archive with the firmware, then we sew using the single file method only, i.e. indicate the location of the firmware in the PDA column, and leave the rest of the lines empty.

make sure that the checkboxes in Odin are checked in the items "Auto Reboot" and "F. reset time". If the location of the *.pit file was specified, then the “Re-Partition” checkbox will be set automatically;

press the "Start" button and watch how the firmware process takes place. The phone may reboot several times during installation and in no case should you unplug the cable from it until the Odin log shows “All threads completed” or the green information window with the words “PASS!” lights up.

The firmware update process traditionally takes several minutes (from 5 to 15) and if successful, you will be prompted to configure the smartphone according to your preferences. After that, you can get to work.

If suddenly something did not work out, you can ask about it in the comments under the article.

Screen Galaxy J3 (2017)

Samsun Galaxy J3 (2017) received a 5-inch PLS display with a resolution of 720x1280 pixels. The pixel density is 294 ppi. Given that other smartphones in the line have the same resolution, but big sizes screen, in terms of clarity, the display of the cheapest device is ahead! Naturally, if you close your eyes to the fact that the older Js have a SuperAMOLED screen. However, the difference is small, so you can't call it a miscalculation of the marketing service. Yes, and the version J3 (2017) is delivered to us with a Super AMOLED matrix, and not like the test sample.

However, even the PLS-screen has good, juicy colors, natural blacks and good contrast.

Samsung has limited display settings in the Galaxy J3 (2017). The older models of the line have various screen profiles, including those adapted for watching movies and photos. They are distinguished by a color temperature close to natural - 6500K. Also older Galaxy J have a filter of blue color which supposedly reduces fatigue. The Troika does not have all this.

But the Galaxy J3 (2017) received the "Outdoor" mode. It turns on the brightness of the display to the maximum for 15 minutes. After that, the brightness is reduced. This is the only screen setting. In general, it is convenient, since Samsung does not have an automatic brightness adjustment mode.

The display leaves a good impression, however, there are not enough settings. However, this is understandable. The screen of the cheapest device of the line cannot be better than that of the more expensive ones.

Let's turn to objective tests. The white brightness of the smartphone is 548.41 cd / m 2, black - close to zero, or 0.32 cd / m 2. The contrast is 1713:1. You can count on comfortable work on the street, you just need to turn on the backlight to the maximum.

The color temperature of the Galaxy J3 (2017) is too high, like all smartphones. Only rare exceptions approach 6500K. The J5 (2017) has a dedicated display profile for this. The Galaxy J3 (2017) does not have this setting, so the screen shows "normal" 8500-9000K.

The color gamut of the Galaxy J3 (2017) is slightly more modest than that of the older models of the line, but, as it should be for a normal PLS, it is noticeably larger than the sRGB range.

But the gamma curves flew away. The colors will be lighter. Here, the screen is noticeably worse than other smartphones in the line.

The smartphone recognizes five touches.

From a larger display, the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) looks good. Especially when you consider that a version with a Super AMOLED screen will be sold in our area.

Camera Galax J3 (2017)

Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) received two cameras. The main one has a resolution of 13 megapixels, the front one - 5 megapixels. Both are capable of recording Full HD video.

Galaxy J3 (2017) retained the line's signature feature and received a front-facing flash, or rather LED backlight, which works with both video and photos.

It should be noted that the front camera of the smartphone differs from the Galaxy J3 (2017) not only in lower resolution than in older models. She also received a darker lens with an aperture of 2.2, although other representatives of the J line have this indicator at 1.8 and 1.9. The main camera is the same as the Galaxy J5 (2017).

The camera interface of the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) is standard. In one part of the display are quick buttons, including changing the camera, flash and call settings. You can also add any of the shooting modes there.

On the other side are the shutter buttons for shooting videos and photos. They are on the same screen, you do not need to switch between them. On the one hand, it is convenient, on the other hand, you can accidentally click on the video instead of the photo. Right next to it is a window for previewing images, leading to the Gallery.

The area next to the main shutter buttons is given over to adjusting the skin tone of the face, or other quick settings, depending on the mode.

Swiping right or left opens screens with shooting modes, as well as preset filters. There are fewer modes and filters than in the Galaxy A series devices. You can’t add new modes, but you can arrange them in order, as well as put them on the main camera screen.

The settings apply directly to the individual cameras. They are limited mainly by the resolution of the content being filmed, as well as common functions: descent, geotagging, etc. Shooting options are available on the main screen depending on the selected shooting mode.

The interface of the front camera is the same as that of the main one. The button for the flash is also in place, since it is also on the front side of the smartphone. But here, in the default mode, more settings are available to improve the selfie: skin tone, etc.

The front camera has only two modes, except for the main one: a widescreen selfie will help to fit a landmark in the background, and the second one will record additional sound. The set of filters is about the same.

The maximum resolution of the main camera is 13 megapixels, while the aspect ratio is only 4:3.

In general, the camera copes well with different scenes. If desired, you can almost always get a good photo.

The main camera can shoot Full HD video. There is a square video preset for Instagram.

The video is also pretty good.

The front camera can also take a 13-megapixel photo and it will also be 4:3.

The front camera lags behind the main one in terms of image quality, but not fundamentally. With backlight and front flash, you can take good selfies.

The front camera allows you to shoot Full HD videos, as well as square videos.

C video is a little worse. The camera reacts more slowly to changes in light, but in general it is also suitable for shooting yourself. Don't forget the front flash. Everything is much better with her.

Specifications Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017)

The specifications of the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017), like the entire line, have improved significantly compared to the previous generation.

The Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) was a very modest smartphone. Recall that it was released not even in 2016, but at the end of 2015, so its platform was not the newest even at that time, even in its class.

Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) received an Exynos 7570 processor with four Cortex-A53 cores at a frequency of 1.4 GHz. In comparison with last year's model, it was not so much the frequency that was pumped over, but the architecture. In the 2016 version, Cortex-A7 was used. Cortex-A53 is both faster and more economical, so you can expect a noticeable performance boost.

There were no fundamental changes in the graphics compared to the American version, but the main one used the Mali-400 at all. So installing Mail-T720 can give a noticeable boost in games.

The RAM capacity has also increased slightly. Now this is the standard 2 GB. Yes, and 16 GB of memory in the minimum version also looks, although not “ah”, but this is not a miserable 8 GB.

In general, the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) platform is more modest than the J5 (2017). Considering that the younger Galaxy J has the same software, it may work more slowly.

The Galaxy J3 (2017) is more modest from a communication point of view. He only has LTE category 4, other smartphones have a higher one. They have higher bandwidth of fourth generation networks. Also, the Galaxy J3 (2017) does not support Wi-Fi 802.11ac, NFC.

Cameras have improved compared to the previous model. They now record Full HD video. The battery capacity has decreased to 2400 mAh. It remains to be hoped that the new processor is more economical and the autonomy of the device will not worsen.

Performance Testing

Before the start of the test "races" a brief summary: the new Galaxy J3 (2017) has a higher frequency, more RAM and a more advanced architecture. The performance gain over the 2016 model should be very noticeable.

In the first Basemark test, the new J3 brought the old one over 70%.

JetStream shows performance in web applications. Mobile devices have long passed the critical mark when it comes to displaying web pages, even the most complex ones. In this case, this is reflected in the smaller difference between the two smartphones.

In 3DMark new samsung The Galaxy J3 (2017) turns out to be noticeably faster than its predecessor, but it's worth paying attention to the generally rather small number of points.

A small number of "parrots" in 3DMark is confirmed by another test. The new J3 is again faster, but the FPS is very low.

Let's take a look at how the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) performs in the popular Antutu test.

Comprehensive AnTuTu test equalizes the CPU and GPU of the chipset. Recall that if the architectures of the computing processor of the models are different, then the graphics are almost the same.

Autonomy Galaxy J3 (2017)

Autonomy is the highest achievement of the new model. After our standard set of actions, the new Galaxy J3 (2017) retained 83% of the charge, while its predecessor only 73%. Moreover, the J3 (2016) has a battery capacity of 200 mAh more. As a result, we can safely say that the Galaxy J3 (2017) will last more than a day. True, given the low performance in graphics tests, for greater autonomy it is better not to load it with games. Noticeable battery savings are achieved by ditching the AMOLED screen.

3D graphics consume the most, followed by data transfer. It is better to read the Internet through Wi-Fi if you want to increase battery life.

Phone Manager can be found in the settings section Optimize the smartphone settings menu. You can also go there through the Energy Saver icon in the notification bar. There are two power saving modes: medium and maximum. Both can be customized. Allows you to adjust the brightness of the display, the frequency of the processor and the operation wireless networks in the background.

Games for Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017)

In principle, the new processor Galaxy J3 (2017) should be enough to provide acceptable performance in games, but there are some doubts due to the low number of points in 3DMark.

• Riptide GP2: excellent, everything flies;

• Asphalt 7: excellent, everything flies;

• Asphalt 8: good, extremely rare, but slows down;

• Modern Combat 5: excellent, everything flies;

• Dead Trigger: excellent, everything flies;

• Dead Trigger 2: excellent, everything flies;

• Real Racing 3: excellent, everything flies;

• Need for Speed: No Limits: excellent, everything flies;

• Shadowgun: Dead Zone: excellent, everything flies;
• Frontline Commando: Normandy: did not start;

• Frontline Commando 2: excellent, everything flies;
• Eternity Warriors 2: did not start;

• Eternity Warriors 4: excellent, everything flies;

• Trial Xtreme 3: excellent, everything flies;

• Trial Xtreme 4: excellent, everything flies;

• dead effect: excellent, everything flies;

• Dead Effect 2: excellent, everything flies;

• Plants vs Zombies 2: excellent, everything flies;

• dead target: excellent, everything flies;

• Injustice: excellent, everything flies.

• Injustice 2: excellent, everything flies.

And indeed, two games did not launch, one received not the highest rating. All in all, the Galaxy J3 (2017) remains a decent gaming console, but be warned: there may be some nasty surprises.

ON

Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) received Android 7.0, as well as the Samsung Essentials 8.1 interface. We wrote about it in detail in, so here we only list the main points.

The Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) has two home screens and a News Briefing screen. They have search and folders with Google and Microsoft applications. The new interface does not have a menu button. It is called by a gesture if you swipe up from the bottom a little higher than the bottom row of icons. On the second screen, you can see Yandex search.

Home screens now have settings. Here you can choose the grid, set the size and color of the fonts.

In addition to the main mode, a simple mode appeared. It is clearly addressed to the elderly or visually impaired. Larger icons are used here, there is a screen with contacts for quick dialing. There is also a menu button.

The appearance of the application menu is standard. Search is at the top. Applications can be sorted alphabetically. In the menu settings, you can change the color scheme. The selection of Samsung Essentials apps has also gone to the settings.

Kit Google Apps ordinary. No news. The most recent addition was made last year - the Duo messenger. Microsoft, as usual, is represented by shortcuts to office suite applications. They still need to be installed and, if asked, subscribe. Skype and OneDrive do not need to be installed, unless they are updated.

News Briefing has not changed. Individual news selections, etc. are also possible.

Notification panel and quick settings. Full list icons opens if you drag the border between notifications and icons. There is a quick launch of the access point, energy saving.

Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) supports Smart Switch app. With it, you can transfer all personal data from your old phone to a new one. Not only Samsung devices and not only Android are supported.

Samsung applications are folded into a separate folder, though not all of them. There are a few more that are in the main menu.

The Samsung voice recorder is much better than the stock Android one. Here you can choose the quality of the recording, its format, as well as block incoming calls for the duration of the recording.

S Health in the new Galaxy is no longer just a fitness tracker, it's an entire ecosystem with social features, supported accessories, and APIs that work with third-party apps. You can use other trekkers, but the information from them, if desired, will still fall into S Health.

The file manager looks familiar. It is possible to display folders as a list or preview icons. You can send files directly from the manager to a secure folder.

Its own browser, or rather an add-on for Chrome, is tied to a Samsung account, offers cloud links and supports extensions.

Samsung Notes are also multifunctional and convenient. Take notes by voice, by hand, draw, print. Nothing will be lost.

Samsung Members - support service, corporate magazine, forum Galaxy owners and a phone manager in one bottle. True, some of the functions are available through registration with Samsung.

The Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) lacks biometric identification tools, but this is no reason to leave the smartphone without Secure Folder. You can restrict access to it with a password or a picture. In the folder, you can place personal files, as well as copies of applications that only the owner of the smartphone will have access to.

Samsung also pre-installs a label on the Galaxy J3 with a link to its store. There is another label - Gifts from Samsung. Unfortunately they didn't offer us anything. Apparently test devices are not allowed.

The Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) also has a Yandex app. Here and search, and weather, and news.

Finally, the last "bun" is Ubank mobile banking.

Conclusion

Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) accelerated less than other smartphones in the line. It remains a very budget device. In some cases, it can be seen that the potential of the smartphone is higher. Functionality restrictions are made for the sake of positioning the device on the market.

The unequivocal advantages of the smartphone are the screen and the main camera. Given the chip made on the selfie, the front one could be of a higher resolution, for example, 8 megapixels, not 5.

On the whole, it turned out to be a worthy budget model, which can be recommended with a clear conscience and a caveat that you should not expect revelations from the device for such money.

Price Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017)

You can buy Samsung Galaxy J3 (2017) for 12 thousand rubles, which is a good price, slightly higher than its predecessor.

Lenovo K6 Power costs 14,000 rubles. It has a Full HD display, though IPS, not AMOLED. It received an 8-core Snapdragon 430 and 2 GB of RAM. The resolution of the main camera is 13 megapixels, and the front camera is 8 megapixels, and most importantly, a 4000 mAh battery.

Xiaomi Redmi 4X with 16 GB of storage costs 13,000 rubles. It has a 720p IPS display, an 8-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor and 2 GB of RAM, 13 and 5 megapixel cameras, and a 4100 mAh battery.

Huawei Honor 6C is also offered for 13,000 rubles. It has a 720p IPS display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 435 processor, 3GB of RAM, and 32GB of storage. The resolution of the cameras is 13 and 5 megapixels, the battery capacity is 3020 mAh.

It unites all the rivals of Android 6.0 and the fact that they are at least a little thicker than the Galaxy J5 (2017), with the exception of Huawei. In the end, we can say that the AMOLED display and the latest Android 7.0 require sacrifices, if not financially, then in terms of performance. Set your priorities.

pros:

• good body;
• decent design;
• good main camera;
• good screen;
• two separate slots for SIM-cards.

Minuses:

• low resolution front camera;
• relatively unproductive platform;
• lack of a fingerprint scanner, NFC;
• no auto-adjust screen brightness.

Review Samsung Galaxy J3 2016. Displays with an IPS matrix have long ceased to be something special, they are now even supplied budget smartphones. Even advanced AMOLED screens, which only wealthy buyers could afford back in 2014, are used in relatively inexpensive models in 2016. One of these models is the Samsung Galaxy J3 2016, which is somewhere in the middle between the budget and middle classes.

Fast passage:

Design

Case Galaxy J3 2016, like the rest of the series affordable smartphones Galaxy J is made of plastic. The shape is familiar to the devices of the Korean manufacturer, but on the front side you can see a combination of black and white flowers, which looks very unusual.

The panel with buttons is white, the edges of the device are surrounded by a white stripe. The back cover also has White color. The upper part of the smartphone with the manufacturer's logo, speaker and camera is black, the side ends are silver.

This is how the J3 looks in white, but there is also a completely golden and black model that does not look so original.

Behind the device looks familiar. The removable cover (unlike top models, Samsung decided to leave the possibility of self-replacement of the battery for budget models) is made of matte plastic, does not slip out of the palm, the ends are rounded.

The thickness of the device is only 7.9 mm, and it weighs 138 grams.

Controls and connectors

With the arrangement of controls and connectors, the Koreans decided not to experiment, so everything here remains the same. The speaker is located above the screen, the front camera lens, proximity and light sensors are also located there.

Under the display are a mechanical button "Home" (in the center), and two touch - "Recent applications" and "Back" (on the sides). There is no backlight on the touch buttons, the pattern on them is applied with silver paint. On the back of the device are the main camera lens, external speaker and LED flash.

The volume buttons are located on the left side of the device, the power button is on the right, as usual. The Mini-jack connector (3.5 mm) is located on top, the microUSB port and the microphone are on the bottom.

Video: Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 review

Display

The main highlight of the J3 is its screen. If earlier only flagships were equipped with Super AMOLED in Samsung, then since 2015 such displays began to appear in relatively inexpensive models.

Images on such a screen look saturated, bright, black color is no longer like dark blue. Although, of course, when compared with such giants as the Galaxy S6, the picture quality is clearly losing. But it's still Super AMOLED, and it looks much cooler than IPS displays.

The maximum screen resolution is 1280 by 720 pixels, the diagonal is 5 inches. The total is 294 dpi - the value is quite decent.

Budget models of the South Korean manufacturer, for obvious reasons, are produced with very limited functions of relatively expensive items. Thus, J3 does not have an automatic brightness control function, there is no possibility to select a working profile, the number of simultaneous touches is only 2. In addition, the display is not protected by mineral glass, although this is a common thing for a budget device.

Camera

It's nice that the Koreans still didn't save on cameras. The resolution of the main camera equipped with a flash is 8 megapixels, the front one is 5 megapixels. The camera application looks the same as in the rest of the Galaxy series smartphones.

Video: Galaxy Jay 3 2016 camera test

Videos are shot in Full HD format, the maximum resolution can be achieved with an aspect ratio of 4:3.

Memory

The amount of internal memory is 8 GB, of which part is allocated to the system. There is a slot for SD-cards, and which can insert a microSD drive up to 128 GB. As for RAM, things are much more interesting here: budget models, as a rule, come with 1 GB of RAM (less often - 2 GB), and 1.5 gigabytes of memory in the Galaxy J3.

Thanks to this amount of RAM, the smartphone can easily withstand the simultaneous launch of several applications, and resource-intensive games run pretty well on it.

Performance and system

The J3 comes preloaded with Android 5.1 with TouchWiz GUI. The interface looks nice and works well. There are pre-installed applications from Microsoft and Samsung.

Video: Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 in Antutu

The SM-J320F/DS is powered by a 1.5GHz Spreadtrum SC9830 quad-core processor (Cortex A7 cores). If you have the SM-J320H/DS version in your hands, be aware that it has a similar chipset (Spreadtrum SC8830), but without 4G network support.

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of a particular device, if any.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Used materials, suggested colors, certificates.

SIM card

The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

Mobile technologies and data rates

Communication between devices in mobile networks is carried out through technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

The operating system is the system software that manages and coordinates the operation of the hardware components in the device.

SoC (System on a Chip)

System on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device in one chip.

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has a built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed amount.

Memory cards

Memory cards are used in mobile devices to increase the storage capacity for storing data.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that are recognized by the mobile device.

Main camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on the back of the case and is used for taking photos and videos.

Additional camera

Additional cameras are usually mounted above the screen of the device and are mainly used for video calls, gesture recognition, etc.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Location determination

Information about navigation and location technologies supported by the device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for short distance data transmission between different devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between different types of devices over short distances.

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to communicate.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, which is also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by the device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Audio file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support various audio file formats and codecs that store and encode/decode digital audio data, respectively.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support various video file formats and codecs, which store and encode/decode digital video data, respectively.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge they need to function.

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR levels refer to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.