Every year, Samsung refreshes its mid-range and flagship Android smartphones. Just a couple of months ago, we were greeted by the waterproof Samsung Galaxy S7 and the premium mid-range Galaxy A series. But just this month, the company released a more affordable, refreshed budget (in the definition of Samsung) Galaxy J series through the Galaxy J5 2016 edition and the rest of the lineup.
The Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 (priced at Php12k pesos in the Philippines) is a capable smartphone just separated in few features from the top tier Galaxy J7 2016. This new model also brings a handful of improvements over the Galaxy J5 2015 model. But are these new features and specs bumped really worth it and would put the Galaxy J5 in a good fight against the competition such as the Xperia C5, Zenfone 3, or the Lenovo K4 Note? There’s only one way to find out that and that’s through our in-depth full review.
More comparisons and reviews
- Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 vs Galaxy J5 2016 Camera Comparison
- Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 Full Review
- Sony Xperia C5 Ultra vs Xperia M5, Galaxy A8, Zenfone Selfie
Design and build
Coming from the plastic build, Samsung has managed to put some premium materials on the Galaxy J5 2016. The side is now backed by an aluminum frame that further adds a sturdy construction. This is perhaps the only big change you could have from the 2015 model.
The back is still removable but now has a brushed matte texture while the positioning of the speaker and LED flash has been swapped. Users will need to remove the battery in order to access the microSD card and dual micro SIM slots.
All buttons are clicky and respond with a sound every press. The microUSB port is located on the bottom alongside the microphone and the 3.5mm audio jack.
If you’re looking for a fingerprint scanner, then you’re out of look. We’re still lucky that the home button is tactile and responds snappily as on the two non-backlit nav buttons.
The Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 looks plain but feels great in the hands. It’s understandable it is not attractive nor premium as the Galaxy A5 or Galaxy A7, but its build surely puts some futureproofing than those aforementioned mid-rangers.
Display and viewing experience
What we really liked about the Galaxy J5 is the Super AMOLED screen. The 720p HD resolution is somewhat mediocre for a 5.2-incher phone, yet the display output is still great for a mid-range Android. The colors are punchy with deep contrast and true, inky blacks. In outdoors, the screen is legible under the sun, thanks to the high level of brightness. There is no Gorilla Glass 4 protection, but there’s a basic scratch resistance on top, though.
Camera
There’s little changes in the camera area of the new shooter from last year’s Galaxy J5 variant. The same 13MP with f1.9 aperture sensor is used on the rear while the 5MP selfie widens the aperture at f1.9 from f2.2.
After comparing the two variants, the results are nothing surprising as the quality is very close. Overall, the photos taken from the main camera has good detail preservation or sharpness. The colors are quite saturated or reddish. Meanwhile, dynamic range handling is mediocre with lots of overblown highlights as you can see on one of the images below. The lack of HDR mode should be blamed on this.
Daylight with Non-HDR shots
The selfie portrait images have quite effective skin toning and beautification. However, colors appear very dull and bright and lack vividness, far from natural shots we saw from other Android shooters.
Low light, night with flash
Video recording is 1080p at 30fps with no OIS or stabilization tricks included.
Selfie portrait in daylight, indoor, night
For this price point, the dual camera setup on the device is still reliable, though not impressive.
Software and UI
Our variants we received are still running on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, but the official ones will run on Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. As for the experience, the TouchWiz UI is still the same as on the flagship counterparts except on the hardware-restricted areas.
There are dozens of Samsung themes available through the Theme store. And if they are not your taste, you can still install launchers from the Play Store of Google.
Performance and benchmark
At the core is the same quad-core Snapdragon 410 chip while the RAM is upgraded to 2GB from 1.5GB with expandable 16GB storage.
Performance is fast for its hardware which is impressive. There are occasional lagging when running multiple apps and multitasking, but the experience felt snappy as on the Galaxy A series with octa-core processors.
The Antutu benchmark score is quite low yet it doesn’t 100% reflect in our actual usage.
Antutu benchmark rating
Battery life and charging
With a 3100 mAh removable battery, the Galaxy J5 really fared well in our endurance test with 4 hours screen-on time and lasted 31 hours on moderate usage. Our testing includes several hours of video playback, browsing, streaming, voice calls, and SMS before the phone died.
While battery life is above average on the device, charging time took a little longer.
Battery life with video playback, browsing, gaming, PC Mark
Speaker and audio
The back-firing speaker has identical audio output as to the larger Galaxy J7. It lacks bass and sounds a little rough in max volume. Vocals, however, is clean and crisp. We just wished that Samsung has made it louder.
Pricing and Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 is officially released in the Philippines for just Php 12k or $320. As usual, it’s a bit expensive for its dated hardware specs such as the 720p screen and quad-core chip, though it’s still a budget according to Samsung. This puts the phone toe-to-toe versus the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 Pro with a beastly Snapdragon 652 processor, the Lenovo K4 Note with VR support, and the upcoming Zenfone 3.
Moreover, the Galaxy J7 2016 is just a few thousand higher with faster processor and high-res 1080p Full HD screen, which really puts the Galaxy J5 on tough selling point. But in the end, the choice is still up to you. The Galaxy J5 2016 still managed to be a worthy Android option, thanks to the solid build, great battery life, and vivid display.
What’s in the box: Unboxing
- 1.5 A power adapter
- 3100 mAh battery pack
- Stereo headphone
- Papers
- USB data cable
Pros
- Above average battery life
- Dual SIM
- MicroSD card slot
- Solid build
- Punchy Super AMOLED screen
Cons
- Dated chip and CPU
- Plain and lackluster design
- No HDR camera mode
- A bit expensive
Samsung Galaxy J5 2016 edition Official PH Price, Specs, Release date
Display: 5.2-inches 720p HD Super AMOLED, 282 ppi
Design: Polycarbonate + metal frame, scratch-resistant
Size: 8.1mm thick, 151g weight
Chip: Snapdragon 410
CPU: Quad-core Cortex A53 at 1.2GHz processor
GPU: Adreno 306 graphics
RAM: 2GB
Memory: 16GB internal + 128GB max microSD card (dedicated)
Camera: 13MP, f1.9 lens aperture, LED flash, Full HD 1080p video
Selfie: 5MP f1.9 front-facing, 720p video, LED flash
Connectivity: WiFi n, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS, 4G LTE, dual-SIM (dedicated slot)
Sensor:Â N/A
Port: microUSB 2.0
Battery: 3100 mAh, No fast charging
Color: White, Black, Gold
OS: Android 6.0 Marshmallow
Release date: May 2016 in the Philippines
Price: Php 11,990 pesos official Samsung PH SRP
hi , what about the samsung j5 prime 2016 – is it better than j5 2016