Very accurate review of Galaxy J5.
http://youtu.be/HsfbeK8jkvY
I am also using Galaxy J5 4G LTE, so here is what I have found so far. Its based on some of my own experiences and the FAQ asked about it that I copy pasted in one place. Too much FAQ's, as it got very positive response and people drove me nuts asking questions about it. Lol. So here are all answers compiled in one place. Lol.
Drawbacks are,
-No auto brightness sensor. It is not available in any budget Samsung phones, even in J7.
-No notification LED, but it has notification reminder. It is not available in any budget Samsung phone, even in J7.
-No compass, so it does not show directions while navigation and it doesn't show Qibla direction. Compass is not available in any budget Samsung phone. It has GPS though. It shows your location, but does not show directions in which you are heading towards.
-Accelerometer (auto rotation) and proximity sensor are the only sensors in it. These are the only ones available in budget Samsung phones.
-No Gorilla Glass for its Super Amoled display protection, not available in any budget Samsung phone though, but its should be present in it. Its own glass seems to be strong. However, use of tampered glass and protective case is recommended.
-Super Amoled displays are very expensive replacements, if damaged. It lacks Gorilla Glass so it's not recommended for people with butter fingers.
-Camera photos are sometimes not sharp enough in low lights.
-Camera photos may have slight noise in some low light shots, but the overall photo quality in low light is very good and better than its competitors. Slight image noise in very low light is normal and not an issue.
-Very basic camera interface. So called Camera Pro mode for manually adjusting exposure, white balance and ISO, but it lacks HDR, Time Lapse and even manual shutter speed controls (rarely present in budget phones). So it's basically a manual mode just like any other Samsung budget phone, not pro mode. It has just basic camera controls. Time lapse can be done using third party app, so not a big issue.
-No secondary noise cancellation mic, not available in any budget Samsung phone.
-No NFC, even in 4G LTE model.
-8GB model is mostly available, out of which ~4.25 GB is available for user, but it has expandable storage upto 128GB.
-Its 8GB model is not suitable for those who install "too many" apps, games, or download content. ~50-75 apps (non games) can be installed in it.
-Use of class 10 MicroSD card is recommended due to its limited internal storage.
-Rooting can help to extend its internal storage and then apps can be downloaded and installed directly to MicroSD card by using Link2SD or any suitable app. Android Marshmallow will allow to use MicroSD as internal storage.
-Its 16GB model (hard to find) is a much better choice for long term perspective. Getting 16GB model is highly preferred over its 8GB model.
-Apps cannot be moved/installed directly to MicroSD card (biggest flaw), though app data can be transferred to MicroSD card, which helps to get some free space in internal storage.
-Downloading data directly to MicroSD card is not possible and large files may not be downloaded due to its limited internal storage. But the data can be easily moved to MicroSD card after successfully downloading it on Internal storage.
-Its 1.5 GB RAM is not as efficient in very heavy multitasking as 2 GB RAM, but still its sufficiently good for normal use. Higher RAM allows more smooth multitasking performance. .
-Few preinstalled non Google bloatware apps, they can be disabled though and it is recommended to disable them.
-Non backlit capacitive buttons, not available in any budget Samsung phones, so not an issue.
-Comparing it to octa core phones in same price range, its performance is moderately fast and sometimes its app opening in some apps (especially Facebook and Messenger) takes a bit longer than normal to start, but once it starts, its very smooth (no lag) afterwards.
-Sometimes, while some app opening or heavy multitasking (app switching) only, it may take additional 1-2 seconds to open/reload the app. But it doesn't get unresponsive, like the pervious Samsung budget phones. Other than this, i did not face any major performance related issues.
-Not as much ultra responsive (snappy) and ultra fast as Honor 4C, Infinix Zero 2 or P8 Lite, but still its very responsive and smooth, a lot better and faster than Grand Prime and previous budget Samsung phones. Overall its slightly slower than its competitors, so it's not for those who want ultra snappy performance.
Benefits are,
-Super AMOLED HD display (294 ppi) with amazing viewing angles, excellent colors (almost like an S6) and infinite contrast ratio (pure blacks).
-Outdoor mode (extra high screen brightness) and very good sunlight legibility due to its very bright display.
-Signal strength, call quality and earpiece volume loudness is very good.
-Warid and Zong 4G LTE runs perfectly.
-MicroSD card expandable upto 128GB and a separate MicroSD and a secondary sim slot. It can run dual sim and a microSD card at the same time.
-Camera can directly save photos and videos to MicroSD card. So lots of photos and 1080p FHD videos can be recorded. Use of Class 10 (UHS-1) speed MicroSD card is recommended for FullHD video recordings.
-In 4G LTE Dual SIM model, both sim slots are 4G supported, so no sim swapping is required to run 4G from Sim 1 and Sim 2.
-GPS locks the position very quickly.
-Android 5.1.1 out of the box, with very optimised and smooth TouchWiz user interface. I never thought that TouchWiz could be that much smooth.
-Great cameras, both are FullHD (1080p) video recording supported.
-Video recording quality is very good and tap to focus also works while video recording. Mic sensitivity is very good in video recording. Photos can also be taken during video recording.
-5 MP front camera is f/2.3 aperture, having a very wide angle lens, perfect for selfies. Its front camera lens is a lot wider than its competitors. So, no selfie stick is required. Wide angle lens helps to capture more background and people in a selfie.
-Front facing flash, perfect for selfie lovers, but it actually works like a torch which is sometimes annoying (blinding), but extremely useful overall for taking selfies in dark and also to reduce image noise in low lights.
-13 MP Rear camera is f/1.9 (wide) aperture, so low light performance is very good and daylight performance is excellent. Note 5 and S6 also have f/1.9 (wide) aperture. Lower aperture number is better generally for low light performance, as it captures more light in dark. F/1.9 cameras also give great depth of field in macros.
-Overall camera quality in both daylight and especially low light is better than its competitors.
-The cameras capture very good amount of light and bright photos in very low lights due to wide aperture cameras. It sometimes slightly overexposes the photos in low light, but i don't mind that.
-Double tapping home button opens camera anytime, whether the screen is on or off (locked).
-Camera quality in well lit situations (even well lit indoors) is very good.
-It has basic camera functions, just like any budget Samsung phone, but still the image quality is very good and Auto mode handles everything very well.
-Rear camera modes include, Auto, Beauty Face, Continuous Shots, Interval Shot, Panorama, Sports Mode, Sound & Shot and Pro mode (White balance, exposure, ISO and metering mode adjustments only) and Zoom Support.
-Front camera modes include, selfie with beauty face (adjustable intensity), wide selfie (panorama basically), sound & shot, interval shot and palm gesture selfie (it detects your palm and then it takes your selfie after two seconds).
-Its tap to focus is very good, quick to focus and adjusts the settings very quickly according to where the camera is being focused. Tap to focus also allows manual exposure adjustments, even in auto mode.
-Easy mode (bigger text and icons, very suitable for elderly people with weak eyesight).
-Customizable themes.
-Built-in background app management (power optimisation) system that works like Greenify to close (hibernate) background apps, to make phone faster and lag free. Manual configuration of this power optimisation feature is required to make it run effectively.
-USB OTG support (adapter sold separately).
-2600mah removable battery and battery timings are excellent and standby power consumption is extremely low.
-On WiFi usage, I get ~7 hours 'screen on time' on 25% brightness with 24-48 hours of charge, with power saving mode on. It ALL depends on how you use it and it will vary from person to person.
-25% brightness is sufficiently bright for most of the times, except for direct sunlight.
-Ultra power saving mode and power saving mode.
-64 bit 1.2 Cortex A53 quad core Snapdragon 410 chip with Adreno 306 GPU, so smoothness and performance is very good for everyday use.
-Multitasking is also sufficiently good, smooth app switching between 4-6 recently used apps. Most of the times, frequently and recently used apps open quick. But sometimes they can open a bit slow (1-2 seconds lag) too. But i noticed similar ~1 second lags even in S6 and Note 5 sometimes. That's the only major performance related issue i noticed. Other than that, there is no major lagging issues.
-It doesn't get unresponsive (freeze), like the previous Samsung budget phones.
-CPU stability test (stress test at full CPU load) showed its Quad Core processor to be more stable in performance than MediaTek octa core processors which overheat and throttle (underclocking to prevent overheating) vigorously under continuous heavy load.
-No overheating issues, its heatsinking ability is very good, phone may get warm or even hot in very heavy use, but the SOC stays within decent temperature limits (50C-55C at max).
-Most of the times, it gets very slightly warm at max on Internet usage or online HD video streaming.
-There is no overheating issues, even in extended continuous use. Phones with overheating issues lag, regardless of how powerful they are.
-No battery overheating issues. Battery temperature stays within 35-40C in very heavy use, which is excellent. Mostly its 30-35C at max. In winters, it stays within 30C. This is very important for safety, as severe battery overheating damages the battery and may lead to battery swelling or even battery explosion (very rare, but its worth knowing).
-Ram management is perfect, so no task killer, battery saver, RAM booster or clean master is required. It automatically frees up RAM as soon as more RAM is required. So no worries about having less free RAM available.
-1.5 GB ram and ~500mb ram is mostly free, so no major lags or freezing issues, like 1GB RAM phones.
-Comparing it to octa core phones in the same price range, its performance is moderately fast and sometimes its app opening in some apps (especially Facebook and Messenger) is a bit slower, but after app opening, it is very smooth with no lag in performance. So its sufficiently optimised in terms of performance.
-It is one of the best "Samsung" budget phones I have ever used, because it doesn't have any major lagging or freezing issues like the previous Samsung budget phones that I have had, its very smooth.
-Its Super AMOLED display, great camera with front facing flash, great battery timings, sufficiently fast performance (not ultra snappy though) with 1.5 GB RAM and no major hanging or lagging issues is what makes it a very good purchase, though its limited 8GB internal storage is one of the biggest drawback, though it supports upto 128GB MicroSD card. Getting its 16GB model is highly preferred over its 8GB model.
Price for official warranty 3G model is 23,000/- and non warranty 4G model is 20,000/-.
Need to know anything specific, feel free to ask [emoji4]. FAQ are already updated above.
Galaxy J5 4G (J500G) official specifications.
Samsung Galaxy J5 | Malaysia