Category: Samsung

News, tips and tricks and Reviews on various Samsung Smartphones.

Samsung Galaxy J2 2016 Cons-Reasons not to buy

Galaxy J2 2016 is the recently launched dual sim Android smartphone from Samsung. The SmartGlow and Turbo Speed technologies are the two key features of this smartphone. Priced at Rs.9,750, is it worth or overpriced? What are the demerits? Let us have quick look into Samsung Galaxy J2 2016 Cons.

Samsung Galaxy J2 2016

At a time when market is flooded with great value for money smartphones such as LeEco Le 2, Honor 5C, Redmi Note 3 etc, there is a great expectation from new Galaxy J series smartphone. But unfortunately Samsung disappointed with this smartphone. Here are the some of the basic Samsung Galaxy J2 2016 Cons according to us.

Samsung Galaxy J2 2016 Cons-Reasons not to buy

Lack of basic sensors

Samsung continued to omit the basic sensors like Compass, Ambient light sensor on this smartphone as well. Now a days, most of the users use smartphones for navigation purpose. Lack of compass sensor/Magnetic Sensor, makes the device not a good device for navigation.

Low powered SoC

Galaxy J2 2016 is powered by 32bit quad core 1.5Ghz Spreadtrum SC8830 SoC which is based on Cortex A7 . It comes with 1.5GB of RAM and Mali 400MP2 GPU. It also has the new technology called Turbo Speed technology which is suppose to improve the performance. However, comparing this with the likes of new 64 bit mid-range snapdragon SoC powered smartphones in this price segment, performance is below average. With the first usage you will feel the lag in the UI. By no means it is a good smartphone for gaming.

Low internal storage

Galaxy J2 2016 has 8GB of internal storage and support for microSD card. The available user storage is around 3GB out of the box. Though it supports microSD card, all apps cannot be transferred to microSD card. The Android Marshmallow feature of using microSD card as internal storage is not available.

Average Build Quality

As we have seen in the Galaxy smartphones from 2013,2014, Galaxy J2 2016 also has plastic build. It is sad to see, Samsung continued to use same last years design and plastic build.

Over Priced

Looking at the options available at the price range of 10k, Galaxy J2 2016 looks overpriced.

Summary: These are the some of the Samsung Galaxy J2 2016 Cons according to us. Having said that, it has few advantages as well. They are decent battery life, AMOLED display screen, VoLTE support, dedicated microSD card support and vast Samsung service centers.

July 18, 2016
Samsung Galaxy On5 Pro and Galaxy On7 Pro FAQ with Cons
Samsung has launched Galaxy On5 Pro and Galaxy On7 pro smartphones in India. Both smartphone are successors to the last years Galaxy On5 and Galaxy On7 with few hardware improvements. Here are the some of the Samsung Galaxy On5 Pro & Galaxy On7 Pro FAQ, Tips and Tricks and Cons.

Samsung Galaxy On5 Pro & Galaxy On7 Pro FAQ, Tips and Tricks, Cons

What are the difference between Galaxy On5 Pro and Galaxy On7 Pro?

The major difference between Galaxy On5 Pro and Galaxy On7 Pro are display screen size, processor, camera and Battery.

Display: Samsung Galaxy On5 pro sports 5 inch 720p HD TFT display screen whereas Galaxy On7 Pro sports 5.5 inch TFT 720p HD display screen . As there is a no difference in terms of screen resolution, On5 pro has more pixel density.

Processor: Galaxy On5 pro is powered by 1.3GHz quad core 32 bit Exynos 3475 processor with Mali T720 GPU. Galaxy On7 pro is powered by 1.2GHz Quad core Qualcomm 410 chipset with Adreno 306 GPU. Both these smartphones comes with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage.

Camera: Galaxy On5 pro features 8MP primary camera whereas Galaxy On7 Pro has 13MP primary camera. Both phones comes with 5MP front facing camera.

Battery: Galaxy On5 Pro houses 2600 mAh battery and the other has 3000 mAh battery.

Price: Samsung Galaxy On5 Pro price in India is Rs. 9,190 and Galaxy On7 Pro price in India is Rs.11,190.

What size sim cards Galaxy On5 Pro and Galaxy On7 Pro supports? Does it has dedicated microSD card support?

Both smartphones accepts microSIM cards and has microSD card support.

Is there OTG enabled on these devices?

Yes.

What are the cons of Galaxy On5 Pro?

I have not got the time to do complete review on the device. But some of the cons of the device are given below based on the specification and initial impressions.
- Outdated Soc. It is powered by 32bit Cortex A7 based processor.
- Lack of basic sensors like Light sensor, compass.
- No LED notification light.
- Not backlit navigation keys.
What are the cons of Galaxy On7 Pro?
- Weak processor for the price.
- Lack of basic sensors like Light sensor, compass.
- No LED notification light.
- Not backlit navigation keys.
- Only 720p resolution for a 5.5 inch display screen.
How to take screenshot on Galaxy On5 Pro and Galaxy On7 Pro?

The method to take screenshot on both smartphone are identical to its predecessor. You can refer my previous post on How to take screenshot on Galaxy On5 and Galaxy On7.
July 12, 2016
Samsung Galaxy J2 (2016) with Smartglow Notification Launched
Samsung has launched a new Galaxy J smartphone Galaxy J2 (2016) along with Galaxy J Max tablet in India. It will be available starting July 10, via both online and offline retailers. This smartphone comes in three different colours namely Black, Gold, and Silver colours. Samsung Galaxy J2 (2016) price in India is Rs.9,750. As a promotional offer, Samsung is offering 6 months of free double data offer to Airtel prepaid customers worth Rs. 4,500.

Samsung Galaxy J2 2016 USP is its SmartGlow notification and Turbo Speed Technology (TST) . SmartGlow feature allows user to assign colour codes to any contact, app or phone usage alert. The new SmartGlow feature can be enabled from the Quick panel and it can be utilised for three usage scenarios: for Priority alerts, Usage alerts and Selfie Assist.

Selfie Assist feature in Galaxy J2 2016, will allow users to take framed selfies via rear camera. The LED notification ring lights up completely when it detects a properly aligned face and takes the selfie automatically.

To use set Priority alerts after enabling the SmartGlow, users need to drag and drop the contact or app onto the “+” in the ring. Users have the option to select and save the SmartGlow colour for any particular contact or app. Once enabled, whenever there is any alert from that contact or app, LED will glow in the corresponding colour. Users can add upto 4 alerts. For Usage Alerts, Smart Glow will inform users on battery, data, or storage related information.

As mentioned earlier another unique key feature of Galaxy J2 2016 is Turbo Speed Technology (TST). According to company, it enhances the performance of the smartphone and load apps up to 40 percent faster than devices with double the RAM. The new Turbo Speed Technology is also said to shut down idle processes running in the background to free the RAM.

Other than this, there is a new UI as well. The new UI on Galaxy J2 2016 has features like Smart Notifier which enables users to prioritise notifications into simple categories, and the new redesigned app tray featuring vertical scroll navigation. There is also S-Bike and UDS (Ultra Data Saving) features which are unique to Galaxy J series lineup.

Samsung Galaxy J2 (2016) Specification
- 5 inch 720p HD Super AMOLED display screen.
- 1.5 GHz quad-core processor with 1.5GB of RAM.
- 8GB of internal storage and support for external storage upto 32GB via microSD card.
- 8MP primary camera with LED flash and 5MP front facing camera.
- Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
- 2600 mAh battery.
Source: GSM Arena and Gadget 360.
July 8, 2016
Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 Cons-Reasons not to buy

Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 or Samsung Galaxy J7 -6 is the successor to the previous years Galaxy J7. The Super AMOLED display screen, good camera, excellent battery life, Decent performance, S-Bike mode are some of the key USP of this smartphone. However, this smartphone has few drawbacks. So here are the some of Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 Cons.

Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 Cons-Reasons not to buy

These are some of the demerits of Samsung Galaxy J7 -6 when we compare it with other smartphones available in this same price segment or lower.

No full HD display screen

Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 which is launched in India comes with 5.5 inch sAMOLED display with screen resolution of 1280×720 pixels. It provides good viewing angles and sunlight legibility. However, we are seeing many smartphones which are priced less than this smartphone featuring full HD resolution screen. Interestingly, the variant of Galaxy J7 2016 which is launched in other part of the world has full HD resolution. This is one of the biggest drawback of Galaxy J7 2016 according to us.

Lack of basic sensors

Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 has only Accelerometer, Hall Sensor and Proximity Sensor. There is no ambient light sensor. This sensor is useful for auto brightness adjustment. Also there is no compass sensor . This sensor is very useful while using the google maps navigation. As there is no Gyroscope sensor, you cannot use this device with VR headsets. All these sensors are available in the smartphones such as Le 2, Redmi Note 3, Honor 5c etc which are priced much lower than Galaxy J7 -6.

No secondary noise cancellation mic

This is another area Galaxy J7 -6 lags behind. The noise cancellation secondary mic is helpful when you are in crowded area. It reduces surrounding noise which interns provide better audio output to the person with whom you are talking to.

No Fingerprint scanner

Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 is priced at Rs.15,990 in India. In recent times we are seeing smartphones which are priced below 10k featuring fingerprint scanner. It is sad to know that, Samsung is not providing fingerprint scanner on a device which is placed in the upper mid range smartphone segment.

No Gesture controls

Galaxy J7 2016 comes with touchwiz user interface on top of Android Marshmallow. Samsung has omitted all the gesture controls and multi windows options on this smartphone. Simple gestures like double tap to wake up also missing.

No LED notification Light

This is another drawback of Samsung Galaxy J7 2016. Having a LED notification light, helps a lot especially to know if there is a notification without even touching the device.

Navigation Keys are not backlit

This is another area Samsung tried to do cost cutting. When we are in dark area, having the navigation keys with backlight is very useful . Samsung devices has back key in the right side and multi tasking button in the left side. If you are using multiple smartphones, it takes a bit of time to get adjusted to it.

These are the some of the Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 Cons according to us. These drawback are very basic things. Considering the price, these are features we expect from smartphone in this segment. Hope Samsung fixes these Galaxy J7-6 cons in the next iteration.

July 4, 2016
Samsung Galaxy J5 Android Marshmallow Update Start Seeding
Samsung has started rolling out much awaited Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow update for Galaxy J5 2015 smartphones in India. The size of the update is 874.18MB which includes latest security patch as well.

The changelog of new Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow update includes change in looks of system settings and notification bar, tweak in animation all over the system, performance improvement, advanced power saving mode(Doze mode which restricts the background data and extends battery life), Google Now on tap etc.

Recommended Reading:

How to take screenshot on Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J7

How to use Galaxy J5 and Galaxy J7 as modem

How to update Samsung Galaxy J5 to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow

You will get a notification on the latest software update if you have enabled the automatic software updates. If not, you can manually check for the updates. As update is large in size, it is highly recommended to download via Wi-Fi rather than mobile data. Below is the step by step guide on how to update Galaxy J5 to Android 6.01 Marshmallow.

Samsung Galaxy J5 Android 6.0 Marshmallow update via OTA
- Go to settings->About device.
- Tap on to Check for Software update.
- If updates are available, you will get a onscreen instruction to complete the update.
It is worth noting that, Samsung has launched Galaxy J5 2016 which runs on Android 6.0 out of the box. One of most advertised feature of the device is S-Bike mode. Though Galaxy J5 2015 has got S-Bike mode, it lacks NFC. Hence, users are not able use the function fully. However, latest Galaxy J5 comes with NFC which allows users to use S-Bike mode as advertised.

It is good to see manufacturers are rolling out latest software updates to its budget smartphones. This week, Asus has started rolling Android Marshmallow update to its Zenfone Max and Zenfone Laser smartphones.

There is no official communication regarding the Galaxy J7 Android Marshmallow update. However, it expected to hit smartphone very soon.
June 14, 2016