What's good
- Excellent battery life
- Beautiful and vibrant screen
- Decent performance
- Removable battery
- Great build quality
What's bad
- Poor camera
- Cannot handle more recent games
- Plastic frame looks cheap
Most of Samsung’s smartphones manage to get a lot of good and bad press. The outlier, however, is the Galaxy J5. This budget device received so little attention Samsung’s own PR team had no idea about it. Yet despite the budget price tag and lack of marketing, the J5 is quite a capable smartphone. While at first glance it might look like the S5, upon closer inspection the differences are much more noticeable. The plastic frame does not offer any water protection and many reviewers call the look and feel “tacky” especially after handling the metal frames of the A series. Despite this, they add it’s very well-made with no flex or creaks. The curved sides and slim dimensions also made it easy for them to grip.
The 5-inch display offers a resolution of 1280x720 for a pixel density of 294 pixels per inch. In comparison to many other smartphones on the market, it’s quite low. However, it makes up for it in other areas such as max brightness. More importantly it manages to cover the entire color spectrum, something other budget rivals don’t do. Critics have nothing but praise for the screen calling it “vibrant” and “incredible.” And since it uses Super-AMOLED technology, they had no complaints about the viewing angles or bright light legibility.
If you’re looking for a very fast phone, it’s best you look elsewhere. The J5 offers a quad-core 1.2GHz processor and only 1.5GB of RAM. As expected, experts noticed some slight hiccups when multi-tasking or playing graphics-intensive games. Still, during basic tasks it ran smoothly with some slight stutters when trying to load image heavy web pages. Battery life is where it excels. Armed with a 2,600mAh battery the J5 managed to provide reviewers with just over 17 hours of life. What’s better, you can replace the battery so you never really have to worry about your phone dying again. Unless you forget to charge the batteries of course.
Perhaps the area where the J5 really shows its budget roots is with the 13MP rear camera. While on paper it sounds like it should take some good pictures, the problem lies in the sensor. Experts found it could not manage different lighting situations often overexposing scenes that had too much light and obscuring details when there was not enough. With that said, when the conditions are just right, they did manage to take some excellent images with high detail and vibrant colors.
Despite the weak camera, experts have no qualms suggesting the J5 to people on a tight budget. IT-Pro states, “It’s an excellent choice for anyone who’s looking for quality on a budget.” Alphr adds, “It’s smooth, stylish, and performs nicely with a bright screen and incredibly battery life.”
What the Critics Are Saying...
- Paul Briden, Know Your MobileReally quite an impressive low-cost smartphone with a lot of bang for your buck. Arguably one of the best budget handsets on the market thanks to Samsung's mastery of Super AMOLED display technology and some sterling battery performance, both of which put it ahead of rivals such as the Moto G, while...
- Adam Shepherd, IT ProThe third-gen Moto G just retains its place in our budget smartphone affections thanks to its classier looks and build quality as well as its clean version of Android and waterproofing. Even so, the J5 has a lot going for it and is a very good alternative if you want a better looking screen and a re...
- Luis D., PhoneArenaThe Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) is a smartphone of reasonably good quality. It looks elegant and its screen is fairly pleasant. Its software experience is well-accomplished and its camera can land surprisingly good shots. While the Galaxy J5 (2016) does cover the essentials, it does so with the absolut...
- GSMArena team, GSMArenaIn terms of hardware the Galaxy J5 (2016) feels like a pretty minor update. The bigger screen and battery are always a good way to lure customers in, but the chipset is feeling decidedly dated at this point. And the camera certainly can't live up to the promises that its specs make.
- Florian Wimmer, NotebookcheckSamsung's Galaxy J5 (2016) is not perfect, but it is a really good smartphone from the lower mid-range.
Prices (Where to Buy)
Common Questions
We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) user manual here.
Samsung backs up the Galaxy J5 (2016) with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.
If your Galaxy J5 (2016) has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Samsung support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Samsung's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.
Ask the Community
Resources
Manuals / User Guides Helpful Links Share / Embed
Maybe one of your friends will find this review helpful? Please help us spread the word.