We test the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) in this analysis in which we reveal everything it has to offer. Its Super AMOLED display and good value for money is profiled as its main weapons within the most economical mid-range.
Quality price per flag
Samsung is a brand that has earned its dominant status in Spain. At the moment it’s the company that sells the most mobile, and that makes things a lot easier in all segments. While above it maintains the S-range with the Galaxy S7 Edge, it also dominates the mid- and low-end range with the A and J. The best example is the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016), whose analysis we have developed.
It should be noted that this inexpensive smartphone serves as an input range for many people. Those who want a basic device without spending a lot of money, have an ally on the Galaxy J3, as we have seen in this review. Its official price is 169 USD.
It is one of the cheapest Samsung mobiles. It competes directly against others who have gathered very good opinions, such as the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3. In its case, the J3, offers a good screen and above all the guarantee of the Korean firm in Spain, something that Chinese mobiles do not yet have.
If you can run tasks like surfing the Internet, messaging through messaging apps and playing some of the most basic games, it’s more than compliant. To check all this and more, we proceed to the review of the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016).
Family design in all its lines
The Design of the Galaxy J3 doesn’t go outside the usual. This firm has managed to achieve a very characteristic aesthetic and relatively common to all its terminals. Few come out of the marked line. The rounded corners and slightly curved back are the brand’s hallmark, and this mobile was not going to be any less.
The physical button remains unchanged for now, as well as the two menu (left) and backward (right) touch keys. Perhaps for the general public it is an unimportant detail, but it is something that brands should keep in mind: some smartphones, the Galaxy J3 among them, are a nightmare for left-handers. We were able to buy it in this analysis. Using Rewind is more common than the menu, which causes the thumb of the left hand to constantly stretch to press it.
It is not unique to the Korean firm, much less, although other companies already allow to customize the position of the buttons to suit the user.
Another drawback is the absence of light sensor and LED notifications on the front, where only the camera is present for selfies. As we will see later in this analysis, these are not two unimport important details.
Otherwise, the material with which it is made is plastic. It is not unibody body, that is, both the back cover and the battery are removable, and that pleases a certain type of audience. You can bring a pair of batteries or replace it whenever you want if you have problems.
Despite the material used, the J3 (2016) conveys a solid feeling, even if it is excessively plastic to the touch. With the headphone jack in the upper area, you may need to adapt to the putting and pulling gesture out of your pocket, as it’s more uncomfortable with this setup.
Its size is 142.3 x 71 x 7.9 mm and 138 g in weight. It is not an oversized or heavy mobile, but much how to hold in your hand and carry in small pockets. In the most basic range is what is demanded, and Samsung has responded to its audience.
A Super AMOLED display
One of the features that has favorably conditioned our opinion of the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) during this review is the screen. Super AMOLED technology makes the user experience good, despite being limited to HD 720p.
Its 5 inches are more than enough with this panel, which offers good luminosity both outdoors and indoors and a sharpness at the height of much more expensive mobiles. However, don’t think it’s all positive news. If the Super AMOLED display saves furniture for the manufacturer, the manufacturer commits two draft failures that throw away much of its merits.
The first is the non-inclusion of ambient light sensor. Without it, it is impossible for the phone software to offer automatic brightness. It has a special mode for outdoors, brighter, but it tastes very little if you have to go up and down the brightness manually.
The other error we detected in the 2016 J3 analysis is that among its features is not the notification light. Design, software or hardware failure, greatly worsens the enjoyment that can be made of this economical Android. Price is not always an excuse to dispense with elements that are key at this point.
At least, among the options offered by the phone software, is to configure the color temperature between the four preconfigured. It also has Asahi Dragontrail Glass protection for glass, a specification that does not match the usual Gorilla Glass. A lot of eye for putting it in the same pocket as the keys.
Good fluidity, especially with a MicroSD
Touchwiz, the customization layer that Samsung applies on Android, is not the best valuated, and with some reason. However, it has improved a lot, and that is noticeable in this J3, whose performance has been better than you would expect considering its specifications. It means that Touchwiz optimizes mobile resources quite well, avoiding slowdowns in most cases and eliminating any system errors.
Throughout the test carried out at the Samsung J3 (2016) we were positively surprised by the fluidity of the system. That said, without demanding too much from multitasking. If, for example, you’re trying to update many apps in one go, forget about playing in the meantime. It’s what you’d expect on a device that only has 1.5 GB of RAM, but is enough.
One thing we’ve detected during the time we’ve used it is that its performance improves if you use a MicroSD. Storing in it all the files that possible relieves the limited system memory, especially in the 8 GB version, the only one for sale in Spain. It’s a detail to keep in mind if you’re buying your device.
With Android 5.1.1, it’s far from Android 7.0 Nougat, the latest version of Google’s operating system. It seems unlikely that the Asian company will update this terminal, at least for the next few months. The manufacturer could certainly be required more in this section.
Simple and familiar are certainly two adjectives that come as a ring to the software of the Galaxy J3 of 2016. The customization options are very few and the look of Android is the classic in Samsung, with app drawer and a few pre-installed apps.
Unlike Chinese smartphones, the J3 does not seek to give every opportunity and to have to make the experience richer. What it offers is simplicity for all those people who will use it to talk and message and get upset with all those services that they do not use in the end. If you are one of these users, Samsung has an offer for you.
Above-expected performance
The performance of such a device is closely linked to software. If it does not take advantage of the components, the performance decays. It is a particularly important symbiosis in the cheapest on the market, which are at the limit in terms of specifications and that could be difficult to meet the needs of any user in 2016. This is the case of the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016), which however leaves good sensations in this analysis.
This smartphone doesn’t score high in the benchmarks to which we have subjected it, but it is not a surprise. It only equips 1.5 GB of RAM and one Spreadtrum SC9830 processor, at least the version of the Galaxy J3 from which we have done the review. There is another one with Exynos processor that is only available in the United States.