Samsung Galaxy J2 Prime

Samsung Galaxy J2 Prime : An affordable 4G LTE Samsung smartphone

After establishing its foothold in high-end smartphone segment with the likes of Samsung Galaxy Edge, Samsung Galaxy S7 etc, it is making lot of efforts to establish its foothold in the Indian budget smartphone market with its Galaxy J series. The company will be coming up with two new smartphones to strengthen its leadership in the 4G market- Galaxy J2 Ace and Galaxy J2 Prime. These two devices will boost the Samsung's J series portfolio, the most popular and best-selling smartphone series in the affordable segment. Samsung J2 Prime is an entry-level 4G enabled smartphone with decent specifications and is also called Galaxy Grand Prime Plus in few countries. It is powered by a 1.4GHz quad-core Cortex A53 chipset paired with 1.5GB RAM and runs on Android v6.0.1 (Marshmallow) operating system. It sports a 5-inch capacitive touchscreen with 540x960 pixels resolution and 294 ppi pixel density and flaunts a 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera with LED flash. It packs a removable Li-ion 2600mAH battery. Samsung J2 Prime price is expected to be launched at around Rs. 8999 and the user can take pictures, send messages and do web browsing on the go all the time with this versatile Samsung Galaxy J2 Prime smartphone.

Pros :

• Incredible 4G speed providing best 4G experience
• Selfie camera with flash
• supports 4G VoLTE
• Good battery backup
• Smooth performance with quad-core processor

Cons :

• Does not have a screen protection against scratches
• Low display resolution
• Low inbuilt memory
• The device is not water resistant
• Lack of quick charging support
• Price is little high as compared to other brands
• Lack of fingerprint sensor
• Hybrid SIM slot
• 1.5GB RAM is inadequate, very less as compared to the market standards

Build and Design :

Samsung J2 prime is a slim and compact smartphone (8.9mm thick) with dimensions of 144.8 x 72.1 x 8.9 mm. At 160gms, it is slightly heavy but easily fits in the pocket. It is a dual SIM device (SIM 1 + Hybrid (SIM or MicroSD)) with hybrid SIM slot wherein the second slot can either accomodate second sim or microSD card for expansion. It comes with a sturdy design and its rear panel has a non-slip grip pattern that is ergonomic and keeps it securely in your hand at all times. The back cover offers a tight grip as it comes with a rugged finish. The device comes in multiple colour options- Gold, Silver, black and pink gold to accentuate your lifestyle while making an impression.

Camera Quality :

Samsung J2 prime comes with front flash to ensure awesome selfie experience. In terms of camera specifications, the smartphone sports an autofocus 8 Megapixel primary camera which captures clear and detailed images with its f/2.2 aperture and single LED flash for good result in low light conditions. The other additional features include CMOS image sensor, Geo tagging, Face detection, SelfTimer, Touch to Focus and video recording of beautiful moments at a resolution of 1280x720p at 30 frames per second. It also features 5MP selfie camera with f2.2 aperture and built-in LED flash to click sharp and vivid self portraits even in low light environment and video calling/video chatting. It delivers good quality images in bright, sunny conditions as well as in dark conditions as it has a LED flash. The rear and front facing camera with selfie flash coupled with super fast 4G connectivity ensures great quality pictures in low light and upload them at blazing fast 4G speed for an amazing social media experience. With the "Quick Launch" feature in the device, you can switch on the camera instantly by tapping twice on the home button and also the device is not capable of recording slow motion videos.

Display and Storage :

This Samsung phone comes with 5-inch PLS TFT LCD qHD touchscreen display, offering pixel resolution of 540 x 960 pixels and pixel density of 294 ppi. This high-definition touchscreen display displays texts, emails, games, photos and videos with utmost clarity. The 5-inch display size is quite appropriate for on-screen viewing for maximum pleasure and enjoyment and offers ultimate gaming experience full of entertainment to the user. It delivers great picture quality that is close to life, great colour reproduction and wider viewing angles, hence offering enhanced visual experience to the users at an affordable Samsung J2 prime price in India. In terms of storage, the device supports only 8GB internal memory out of which only 3.3GB of space is available to the user. The inbuilt memory is quite less but can be further increased upto 256GB (dedicated slot) using microSD card in the second SIM slot for storing more videos, pictures, contacts, apps, songs, data and games.

Internals and Processor :

In order to provide great multitasking experience to the users, Samsung J2 prime is powered with a 1.4 GHz quad core Cortex-A53 CPU MediaTek MT6737T processor coupled with 1.5GB RAM and Mali-T720MP2 GPU to ensure that the user can handle mobile apps and games, running applications, flipping through menus with utmost ease without slowing down the user interface and not affecting the device performance. With upgraded RAM support and improved processor, the user can enjoy seamless and more responsive multimedia and gaming experience. It also offers great graphical experience to the user. The smartphone may offer some variants featuring 2GB RAM and 16GB/32GB internal storage options. On the software front, the smartphone runs on Android Marshmallow v6.0.1 Marshmallow operating system out of the box and it might receive Android 7.0 Nougat update sooner or later .

Battery and Connectivity :

This Samsung device is packed with a 2,600 mAh removable Li-Ion battery which lasts for less than 12 hours of talk time on medium usage. The battery capacity should have been more for uninterrupted mobile usage for long time duration. There is a power saving mode in the device to maximize the battery efficiency. In terms of connectivity, it supports 2G, 3G and 4G LTE (with Band 40 support in India) with VoLTE voice calling support which provides fast web connection for downloading apps, streaming content and staying connected with social media. It also supports dual SIM functionality, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.2, Mobile Hotspot, GPS with A-GPS, Glonass, Wi-Fi direct, USG on-the-go, USB OTG, microUSB v2.0 port and FM Radio functionality. There is no NFC feature. Sensors on the phone include Proximity sensor, compass, gravity, Accelerometer.

Additional Features :

Like other budget smartphones in the Galaxy J series, the Galaxy J2 prime come with certain benefical features like Maximum power saving mode and Smart switch. This power saving mode turns off all the apps running in the background so as to minimize the battery consumption so that the user can enjoy more multimedia and games. Smart switch makes data transfer very simple, fast and easy. You can move everything from music, calendar events or phone settings in a single hassle-free step. It is also equipped with Samsung's Knox security suite which will be compatible with almost all the GSM carriers including AT&T and T-Mobile in the US.

What makes it unique?

1. One of the key highlights of this affordable smartphone is to feature a front facing camera with flash.
2. It is probably the fastest Samsung 4G VoLTE enabled phone priced around Rs. 8,000.
3. It is the only Samsung device in the price range between 5,000 – 10,000 that runs on latest Android Marshmallow OS.

Final Verdict :

Samsung Galaxy J series is quite popular among masses in the Indian budget smartphone market. J2 Prime is one of first budget Samsung phone to have 4G VoLTE support and front camera with flash. It comes with decent specifications like high-end connectivity, VoLTE enabled, great camera quality, good battery backup at amazingly low and entry level price. This phone is a good value buy for camera lovers who want high quality images at all times of day, be it day or night. Before buying, the buyer should compare the prices and go for lowest Samsung Galaxy J2 prime price in India. At a price range around 10K, you can also opt for other phones with better specifications like Redmi Note 3 which is equipped with features like 5.5-inch full HD display, is powered by Snapdragon 650 hexa-core chipset paired with 2GB RAM, 16GB built-in storage, 16 Megapixel rear camera with dual LED flash, 5-megapixel selfie shooter and a bigger 4050mAh battery. Another worthy option is Coolpad Note 5 having 5.5-inch full HD IPS display (1080p), is packed with Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 octa-core processor paired with 4GB of RAM and powerful 4000mAH battery. It comes with 13 Megapixel rear camera with LED flash and 8 Megapixel front shooter with flash for clicking great selfies.