Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) Full Review

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) is a mid-range smartphone that was released in 2016. It features a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels.

This phone is powered by an Exynos 7870 octa-core processor, which provides smooth performance for everyday tasks. The Galaxy J7 (2016) also comes with 2GB or 3GB of RAM, depending on the region.

The camera on the Galaxy J7 (2016) is a 13-megapixel primary sensor with an f/1.9 aperture, allowing for good low-light performance. It also has a 5-megapixel front camera for selfies.

Broaden your view: Samsung Galaxy J7 Phone Specification

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) has a sleek design with a removable back panel, metallic chrome diamond-designed frame, and a metal-finish plastic back cover.

The phone's front features a 5.5 inch screen with two capacitive buttons and a hardware home button just below the screen.

Above the display, you'll find a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash and a chrome grill covering the earpiece and sensors.

The phone's right edge has a power button, while the left edge has volume keys.

A 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro-USB port are located at the bottom of the device.

The backside of the device features a slot for a microSD card and two slots for SIM cards, as well as NFC chips.

The phone's battery is concealed under a plastic rear cover and has a capacity of 3300mAh.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 has a HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 720×1280.

The screen comes with scratch-resistant glass, equivalent to Corning's Gorilla Glass 3.

The phone is powered by Samsung's Exynos 5 processor clocked at 1.6 GHz, coupled with a Mali T830 GPU.

It has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage, which can be expanded up to 128GB via a microSD card slot.

The phone's processor has much fewer pixels to push, which benefits the battery life and gaming performance.

The display is an sAMOLED panel, offering ultra vivid colors that are a bit too realistic.

The blacks on the screen are deep and inky, and images and video 'pop' on the screen.

However, the low pixel density makes text appear blurry on text-heavy websites and e-books.

Additional reading: Samsung Galaxy Phone Battery

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) is quite energy efficient with a maximum power consumption of 3.3 watts, which is lower than many of its competitors.

This efficiency is likely due to its 3300 mAh battery, which is the largest capacity among the phones compared in this article. The phone can be fully charged in about 2.5 hours with the power supply that comes in the box.

In terms of power consumption, the Galaxy J7 (2016) operates at 0.67 watts in idle minimum mode, 1.71 watts in idle average mode, and 1.83 watts in idle maximum mode. These values are lower than some of its competitors, such as the Honor 5X and Huawei P9 Lite.

Here's a comparison of the power consumption of the Galaxy J7 (2016) and its competitors:

Overall, the Galaxy J7 (2016) is a power-efficient phone that should provide long battery life.

Performance is where the magic happens. A well-optimized system can make all the difference in getting tasks done efficiently.

The CPU plays a crucial role in performance, with a quad-core processor providing a significant boost in multitasking capabilities. This is especially true for resource-intensive tasks like video editing and 3D modeling.

A good graphics card can also greatly improve performance, with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 capable of handling 4K resolution gaming with ease.

In contrast, a slow hard drive can bring a system to its knees, with a 1TB hard drive offering a significant improvement over a smaller 256GB drive.

A solid-state drive (SSD), on the other hand, can provide a massive performance boost, with some SSDs offering read and write speeds of up to 5500 MB/s.

Recommended read: Sony Xperia X Performance

The Galaxy J7 (2016) is quite the energy-efficient device, consuming a maximum of 3.3 watts. This is impressive, especially when compared to its competitors, which demand between 5.05 and 6.43 watts under full load.

One of the key factors that contribute to its efficiency is its low power consumption in idle mode, with a minimum of 0.67 watts. This is significantly lower than the other devices in the comparison, which range from 0.61 to 2.22 watts.

The phone's battery life is also a major advantage, thanks to its large 3300mAh battery. This, combined with its efficient power consumption, raises hopes for long battery life. In fact, the phone can be fully charged in about 2.5 hours with the standard power supply.

Here's a comparison of the power consumption of the Galaxy J7 (2016) with its competitors:

The Galaxy J7 (2016) also has a relatively low power consumption in load mode, with an average of 2.37 watts. This is lower than the other devices in the comparison, which range from 2.56 to 6.34 watts.

The display and camera of the Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) are quite impressive. The rear camera has a 13MP resolution, which is above average, and can take sharp and vibrant images with vivid colors and deep blacks in well-lit situations.

The front camera is also a highlight, with a 5MP resolution and a LED flash, making it perfect for social media selfies. It's also quick to focus and produces little or no lag when processing images.

See what others are reading: Samsung Galaxy Camera 2

The camera can record FHD (1920 x 1080) @30fps videos, which is a decent quality, although it lacks the ability to shoot 4K videos.

Here are the key camera specs:

The Galaxy J7 (2016) display is a Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280x720 pixels. This results in a pixel density of 267 PPI. The display has a size of 5.5 inches.

The display offers advantages such as a theoretically unlimited high contrast ratio, thanks to its technology. Subjectively, the display produces a flawless image with very vivid colors.

The Galaxy J7 (2016) reaches a brightness of 291.2 cd/m² with an entirely white background. This can be increased under the display setting "Outdoor mode" for using it outside, reaching up to 413 cd/m².

The brightness distribution of 91% is very even, but there is one small flaw: screen flickering can be noticed on the Galaxy J7 (2016) if the brightness is set to 40% or lower.

For your interest: Samsung Galaxy J7 Perx Phone

Here's a comparison of the display with other devices:

The Galaxy J7 (2016) comes with four display modes to choose from, with which you can adjust the color reproduction individually. The "Simple" mode produces the most natural colors, but also the palest.

The camera on the Samsung Galaxy J7 is a standout feature, with a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. Both cameras have an aperture of f/1.9, which allows for sharp and vibrant images in well-lit situations.

The rear camera is above average and one of the better shooters in its segment, producing sharp and vibrant images with vivid colors and deep blacks. However, in low-light situations, the images lack detailing and have a noticeable amount of noise.

The front camera is more than capable of handling your social media selfies and even comes with a LED flash, making it a big win for selfie junkies. The camera can record 1080p videos with 30fps, with decent quality but occasional darkness.

Here are some key camera specs:

The rear camera has an LED flash, while the front camera has a separate LED flash for better lighting conditions. The camera app also offers features like facial recognition, a selfie mode, and a "Group Selfie" mode.

Related reading: Samsung Galaxy Camera

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) comes with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and Samsung's TouchWiz user interface, which got an update to Android 7.0 Nougat with Samsung Experience 8.1. Later, it got an update to Android 8.1.0 Oreo with Samsung Experience 9.5.

The phone features a horizontal scrolling app drawer where applications can be arranged alphabetically or as per the user's wish. Long pressing the home button opens up Google Now.

Samsung's TouchWiz UI has a powerful theming engine, allowing users to customize their device's look and feel. The device also comes with a feature called 'Smart Manager,' which helps check the performance statistics of the device.

Here's a list of some of the pre-loaded applications on the Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016):

The Samsung Galaxy J7 runs on Samsung's own TouchWiz UI, which is a custom interface built on top of Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. This gives you access to all the features of Marshmallow, including Doze mode and application permission control.

One of the most notable features of TouchWiz is the horizontal scrolling app drawer, which allows you to arrange your apps alphabetically or by your own preference. This is a nice change from the traditional vertical scrolling app drawer.

You can also customize the quick notifications tray, which comes with 18 icons out of the box. This can be trimmed down to a more manageable size, which is a welcome feature.

Long pressing the home button opens up Google Now, and a double press leads to the camera app instead of Samsung's S Voice. This is a great improvement, as S Voice is rarely used.

Samsung has also added a feature called 'Smart Manager,' which allows you to check the performance statistics of your device. This includes battery status, storage space, and memory used by applications.

The device comes with a lot of preloaded applications, including a suite of Microsoft applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. These can be uninstalled if you don't need them.

Samsung's own applications, such as S Health and Galaxy Apps, are also preloaded on the device. There's also a built-in browser, S planner, and My Galaxy app.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 also comes with a powerful theming engine, which allows for extensive customization of the user interface. This is a great feature for those who like to personalize their device.

Here's a breakdown of the preloaded applications on the Samsung Galaxy J7:

The Samsung Galaxy J7's software is a bit cluttered, with multiple apps for the same purpose. However, it's great to see Samsung working hard to optimize TouchWiz, making it smoother and more fluid with each update.

When you're looking at the storage options, the device comes with 2 GB of memory and 16 GB of storage. This might seem a bit limited, but you can always expand your storage with a microSD card.

The available storage on the device is slightly less, at 10.8 GB. This is because some of the storage is taken up by the operating system and other pre-installed apps.

You can add more storage to your device using a microSD card, which can support up to 128GB.

Here's a quick rundown of the storage options:

The phone app on the Samsung device is uncluttered and offers a large keypad for dialling numbers.

One of the notable features is the tab for logs of received and outgoing calls, which can be useful for keeping track of your communication history.

A large keypad makes it easy to dial numbers, and the tabs for favorites and contacts make it simple to access your most frequently used contacts.

The voice quality, however, is not convincing, with calls sounding somewhat muffled in our test calls.

The built-in speaker sounds relatively fine during calls, but it's prone to distortion at high volumes.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) has a large battery capacity of 3300mAh, which makes it a long-distance runner that beats several comparable devices. This battery life is impressive, allowing the phone to easily hold up two or even more days on one charge.

The phone's battery life is further demonstrated in the benchmark tests, where it scored 17 hours and 5 minutes on our realistic WLAN benchmark, and over 20 hours while playing a test video. In comparison, most rivals last only half as long.

Here are some key battery life statistics for the Galaxy J7 (2016):

The Galaxy J7 (2016) also supports a wide range of audio formats, including MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, and OTA. Video playback is also supported in various formats, including MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, and WEBM.

The battery life of a smartphone is a crucial aspect to consider, especially if you're someone who's always on the go. The Samsung Galaxy J7 has a battery capacity of 3300mAh, which is quite decent.

This large battery capacity allows the device to last up to 11 hours of internet usage time on 3G, and up to 21 hours of video playback time. If you're a music lover, you'll be pleased to know that the battery can last up to 96 hours of audio playback time.

The battery life of the Galaxy J7 is also quite impressive, especially considering its moderate energy consumption. According to the test results, the device can last up to 33 hours and 50 minutes in idle mode, and up to 20 hours and 20 minutes while playing a 1080p video.

Here's a comparison of the battery runtime of the Galaxy J7 with some of its competitors:

As you can see, the Galaxy J7 has a significant advantage over its competitors in terms of battery runtime.

The audio and video capabilities of this device are impressive. You can play a wide range of video formats, including MP4, M4V, 3GP, and AVI.

If you're planning to watch a lot of videos on the go, you'll be happy to know that the device can play videos at a high resolution of FHD (1920 x 1080) at 60 frames per second.

The audio capabilities are equally impressive, with support for over 20 different audio formats, including MP3, M4A, and WAV.

A different take: Moto X Play

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) has a wide range of connectivity options, making it a great choice for staying connected on the go. It can communicate over four GSM, four UMTS, and seven LTE bands/frequencies, covering all the important local frequencies and LTE bands in the European zone.

The phone has a Micro SIM card and a suitable mobile plan on board, which allows for fast data transfers over WLAN via the 802.11 b/g/n standards. However, it's worth noting that the phone does not connect to 5 GHz networks.

The Galaxy J7 (2016) has a GPS module that pinpoints your current location precisely within a few metres in buildings as well as outside. However, in our field test, the smartphone did not fare as well as some of its rivals, sometimes taking rigorous shortcuts through the woods or positioning us several meters away from the path.

Here's a breakdown of the phone's networking capabilities:

The phone also supports ANT+, USB 2.0, and Bluetooth v4.1, with a range of Bluetooth profiles that allow for seamless connectivity with other devices.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) is a decent mid-range smartphone, but its price tag of Rs 15,999 makes it hard to recommend. It has a dated and uninspired design.

One of the Galaxy J7's strengths is its gaming performance, which is quite good. However, it's not without its flaws, such as the appalling quality of its back cover.

The phone's cameras are above average, and it also features a front LED flash, which is a nice touch. But it's not enough to justify the high price, considering the competition offers more at a lower cost.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) is a great option for those who want a mid-range phone with a good balance of features and price. It's part of Samsung's J-lineup, which is known for following the Galaxy S and A-series closely in terms of upgrades.

The J-lineup may not be as flashy as the flagship pair, but it's a solid choice for those who want a reliable phone without breaking the bank. It's perfect for everyday use, with a good camera and a long-lasting battery.

The Galaxy J7 (2016) has a good camera, but it's not as advanced as the flagship pair. It's still a great option for casual photography and social media sharing.

Worth a look: Sony Xperia J

The Samsung Galaxy J7 is a mixed bag. It's hard to recommend at Rs 15,999, considering its dated and uninspired design.

The device has some notable features, such as good gaming performance, above-average cameras, a front LED flash, and good battery life. These are significant advantages, especially for a mid-range device.

However, the J7's back cover has appalling quality, and it only comes with 2GB of RAM. This is a major drawback, as it limits the device's multitasking capabilities.

The competition offers much more at a lesser cost, making it a tough sell. The J7's 720p display is also a letdown, especially when compared to the high-resolution displays offered by other devices in this price range.

Here are the J7's key pros and cons:

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) has a 5.5-inch 720p HD sAMOLED display, which is a great size for watching videos or browsing the web.

The phone runs on Samsung's TouchWiz UI, topped with Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, and is powered by a 1.6GHz octa-core Exynos 5 processor.

Its 2GB of RAM is a bit on the lower side, but it should still handle most tasks with ease.

The phone's 13MP f/1.9 rear camera is equipped with a LED flash, and the 5MP f/1.9 front camera also has a LED flash.

The battery life is quite impressive, with a 3,300mAh battery that should last you a full day with moderate use.

The phone measures 151x7.6x7.8 mm and weighs 170 grams, which is relatively lightweight and compact.

Recommended read: Samsung Galaxy F Series

The J710M model is a variant of the Samsung Galaxy J7 Duos (2016) with dual-SIM card slots.

This model is also known as the Asia/China model, which is notable for its 1080p display and 3 GB RAM.

The J710M supports GSM / HSPA / LTE technology, allowing for various connectivity options.

It has 2G bands of GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, which is compatible with many global networks.

In terms of 3G bands, the J710M supports HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100.

The 4G bands supported by the J710M include 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 40.

The device has a speed of HSPA, LTE Cat4 150/50 Mbps, making it suitable for data-intensive tasks.

For your interest: Samsung Galaxy A6 / A6+

The Samsung device in question has a 5.5-inch 720p HD sAMOLED display, making it a great option for those who want a good viewing experience on the go.

The device runs on Samsung's TouchWiz UI, which is built on top of Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.

The processor is a 1.6GHz octa-core Exynos 5 processor, which should provide smooth performance for most tasks.

Here are the key specifications of the device:

The device also has a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera, both with LED flash for better low-light performance.