Samsung Galaxy J7 2017 Review

Samsung does not focus solely on high-end segments but has decided to spend a lot on the mid-range smartphone market with its Galaxy A and Galaxy J series which has been renewed with the 2017 models. The new version of this series is the Galaxy J7 2017. Which incorporates a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display, Exynos 7870 processor coupled with 3GB of RAM. In this Samsung Galaxy J7 2017 review, we have Dual SIM with a 32GB storage model which is sold at a price around $350.

Design

Samsung Galaxy J7 2017 has all metal body with Corning Gorilla Glass front. The design is quite pleasing, and in line when compared to other Samsung smartphones.

The back is slightly curved to favor a better grip. However, the dimensions of 152.5 x 74.8 x 8.0 mm and weight about 181 grams do not make it very convenient to use with one hand, as well as it’s slippery too.

The rear camera module fully merges with the back panel and antenna design is also delightful. There are the power/lock button, the volume adjustment button, and the speaker style, placed in a similar position as the Galaxy A.

In this dual SIM version, there are two removable slots with microSD with which we can expand up to 32GB. On the bottom edge, there is the 3.5mm audio jack, the microphone, and USB 2.0 port, while the top edge is completely clean.

There is also a 13-megapixel rear and front camera, but the absence of the LED notification. There is a front fingerprint sensor integrated into the home button, function buttons without backlit and even do not have the vibration feedback.

Display

Samsung Galaxy J7 2017 comes with the excellent Super AMOLED display, a 5.5-inch screen with Full-HD resolution and a density of 401pp which occupies about 73 percent of the front surface.

Good oleophobic glass protection and high backlighting allow you to always have a decent outdoor visibility. The colors are not saturated, but we can still adjust them by setting either four preset modes or RGB levels.

Usually, most of the AMOLED panels have high contrast, and the viewing angles are extremely wide.

Hardware

For Galaxy J7 2017, Samsung has chosen its own processor, the Exynos 7870 octa-core clocked at 1.6GHz paired with Mali-T830MP2 GPU and 3GB of RAM.

Benchmark scores are not exciting: on GeekBench 4 you get 735 points in single core and 3769 points in multi-core. With AnTuTu, however, the 46,000 points are touched.

Nevertheless, this hardware department makes it possible to achieve good performance in daily use. Applications start up quite quickly and even the most demanding games can be managed without too much lag.

The efficient 14nm processor does not much effect, thus achieving good autonomy. It also completes connectivity with Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac (2.4 + 5GHz), Bluetooth 4.1, ANT+, NFC, and GPS with GLONASS receiver. There is also stereo FM radio with RDS, which is still very much appreciated by many users.

Camera

The rear camera has a 13-megapixel Sony IMX258 sensor with f/1.7 aperture, autofocus and Flash LED. The front camera is also 13-megapixels but has a Samsung sensor with f/1.9 aperture. Even the front camera has selfie flash, but the focus is fixed.

No particular unique interface for the camera app, the classic one of Samsung that we can navigate through swipe in all four directions.

Among the various shooting modes, in addition to shooting with HDR (non-automatic), panoramic, sports, multiple shots, and audio, we also have a PRO mode with separate ISO settings, exposure and white balance. By activating the front camera we have the panoramic selfie, self-timer and beauty mode.

Photographic quality is definitely high considering the price range of the Samsung Galaxy J7 2017. Pictures taken under optimum lighting conditions are well defined and devoid of particular artifacts. The balanced result which we can appreciate with more natural colors when we look at photos on a regular display.

In light conditions, however, the quality is still good enough, even if you feel the lack of stabilization. Videos have 1080p resolution at 30fps recording even through the front camera, allowing you to take good quality photos as long as you keep the right distance from your face. This f/1.9 aperture also adds a nice blur of the background.

Software

The Samsung Galaxy J7 2017 is based on Android 7.0 Nougat with Samsung 8.1, the same version as the Galaxy S8, which shares almost all features, especially on Dual SIM, the ability to clone various applications to use on two different accounts at the same time. There is also a privacy mode with we can set a password for photos, documents, and applications, the Game Launcher is also useful features while playing games.

Battery

High capacity 3600mAh battery thanks to the adoption of the AMOLED display, which does not require much energy, also allowed us to use Galaxy J7 2017 for over a day. On average, we reached and exceeded up to 6 hours of usage time.

However, the display slightly affects the power consumption, so we would recommend not to use it when you are in a busy working day. In streaming tests with Netflix or YouTube, we got an average battery consumption about 7 percent per hour.

Obviously, in case of need, we have various energy saving modes: a medium, customizable, which reduces the brightness of the display, limits the processor power and disables background and data; High customizable, that sets a black background theme and limits the application usage.

Final line

The Samsung Galaxy J7 2017, as mentioned above, has a list price of $349, although on Amazon online store you can find it easily at around $340 / £299.99, a definitely more interesting price but slightly higher when compared to other devices in the same price segment. However, the strengths of this smartphone are its Super AMOLED display, camera quality, and battery life. Among the lower sides, slippery body and non-backlit function keys.