Another Pro variant is introduced by Samsung in the form of the budget Galaxy J3 Pro. With a beefier hardware, sleeker design than the Galaxy J3 and 2016 model, is the price difference worth it on the Pro version? Let’s find out in our full review of the budget Android Samsung Galaxy J3 Pro.
Table of Contents
Design and build
The Galaxy J3 Pro is a big step up for both J5 and J3 series this year. It’s now more rectangular and flatter in form with the back featuring a spun finish. The removable cover is made of plastic where it looks like a metal plate in a distance. Behind the flat back is access to the removable battery, microSD, and dual SIM slots.
All sides are rounded and feature a typical budget Samsung button layout with the power at the right side and volume rocker on the opposite. The microUSB port is positioned at the bottom while the speaker is easily muffled on the back when placed on its back.
There is no fingerprint scanner embedded on the home button and neither the navigation keys are backlit. The proximity sensor is found on top along the 5MP selfie camera. As usual, the Galaxy J3 Pro lacks an automatic light or ambient sensor similar to the J3 and below models. But we’re not here complain as this is obviously part of the cost-cutting of the company.
If not for the plastic build, the Samsung Galaxy J3 Pro is definitely a gorgeous budget phone we’ve dreaming of. Nonetheless, the changes in design are improvements we’re looking for.
Display
Sporting a 5-inch Super AMOLED and relatively below Retina resolution, the overall output is punchy and saturated but with a lower brightness level.
Again, there’s no light or ambient sensor here leaving you to manually control the brightness level. It’s a bit disappointing knowing the model labeled as Pro but not a big deal breaker for us considering it has an outdoor mode and good AMOLED quality.
Camera
The 8MP main camera paired with a LED flash on the back shoots satisfactory still photos with quite pleasing colors at daylight. It’s on the night that the camera struggles especially in noise control. Overall, the camera is decent enough for its price.
Although the 5MP selfie camera supports beautification, the selfie photos are noticeably softer and lacks a solid sharpness level. Again, it’s expected that there’s nothing spectacular on this budget phone.
The video is max out at 1080p resolution and lacks electronic nor optical stabilization. The color is on par with its still capabilities where an amount of details is middling.
Software and UI
Perhaps the biggest let down to us is on the software side as the Pro runs on Android 5.1 Lollipop with dated TouchWiz UI. There are no words yet if the J3 Pro will receive a Marshmallow update. As usual, you can still customize your experience thru themes and 3rd party launchers.
Performance and benchmark
The Pro label justifies the hardware under the hood. The Galaxy J3 Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 410 quad-core, 2GB RAM, and 16GB expandable storage, which is a better setup overall than the Spreadtrum and 1.5GB RAM of Galaxy J3 2016.
In terms of actual performance and benchmark, the Galaxy J3 Pro does the job without stuttering. We just notice that opening apps and multitasking are slower compared to the Galaxy J5 though it can play NBA 2K16 at low graphics settings. The Antutu benchmark is about 28,500 which is expected for its chipset.
Battery and charging
The battery capacity for J3 Pro is 2600mAh and it did not increase over the J3 2016, but so far battery life is solid and it can easily last the whole day in moderate use.
Charging is a bit slow at 2 hours and 40min using the 1A power brick.
Audio
The loudspeaker is positioned at the back with mediocre and tinny quality. The volume level is noticeably underpowered too. Again, this is a budget phone and we cannot complain that much.
Pricing and Verdict
For P7,500 pesos or roughly $150 USD price in the Philippines, the new J3 Pro is still a far-fetched budget take of the company considering the noticeable big cost-cutting move done in designing the device. While we’re still not convinced that the J3 Pro is worth for your money, we still think that it’s a better option than the Galaxy J3 2016 considering the small price difference.
Pros and cons of Samsung Galaxy J3 Pro
+ Punchy Super AMOLED panel
+ Solid battery life
+ Decent performance
– Poor selfie quality
– No ambient or auto light sensor
Samsung Galaxy J3 Pro Official price, Full specs, Release date in the Philippines
- Display: 5-inch HD 720p Super AMOLED, 293ppi
- Design: Faux metal back, plastic frame, scratch-resistant
- Size: 8mm thick, 139g weight
- CPU: Snapdragon 410 64-bit Quad-core 1.2GHz processor
- GPU: Adreno 306 graphics
- RAM: 2GB
- Memory: 16GB internal storage + 64GB microSD card
- Camera: 8MP main camera, LED flash, FHD 1080p video
- Selfie: 5MP front-facing, HD video
- Connectivity: 4G LTE, dual-SIM, WiFi n, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
- Port: microUSB 2.0, USB OTG
- Audio: back-firing mono speaker, standard
- Battery: 2600mAh, removable
- OS: Android 5.1 Lollipop, software update up to Marshmallow
- Colors: Silver gray, Gold
- Price: P7,500 ($160) SRP in the Philippines
- Release date: June 2016 in South Korea, July – August availability in the Philippines
For our time, Android 5.1 is already the last stage
Hello! Why is the operating system rooted?
Flashed with Global ROM.
How can I do that?
How to resolve issue of low sound volume in Galaxy J3 Pro ?