Samsung has launched the Galaxy J7 Prime and J5 Prime – the latest in the budget J series – in India. This is an upgrade to the J7 2016 and J5 2016, which were launched a few months ago.
Notable improvements include a difference in build quality, a fingerprint sensor, notification LED and a better selfie camera. A couple of disappointing things are the TFT display and the lack of NFC support. The J5 and J7 of 2015 as well as 2016 had AMOLED display, hence a downgrade to TFT technology – not even IPS – seems strange.
Unlike other budget offerings from Samsung, both the J7 Prime and J5 Prime come with a metallic build. The rear camera no longer protrudes, and the home button doubles up as an active fingerprint scanner. The metallic build means the back is no longer removable, while the notification LED makes a comeback to Samsung phones. The speaker has been moved to the right side, a first in J series smartphone.
J7 Prime and J5 Prime | Specifications
The J7 Prime is powered by octa-core 64 bit Exynos processor clocked at 1.6 GHz, along with Mali GPU. A 5.5 inch Full HD TFT display sits on the front, below the front facing camera, earpiece and a multi coloured notification LED. The display has a 2.5 D glass, which means it curves ever so slightly at the edges. The front facing camera has an 8 MP sensor but without a front flash light. Meanwhile the rear camera sports a 13 MP CMOS sensor, capable of FHD recording at 30 fps. Both cameras have aperture of f/1.9
J5 Prime has a quad-core 1.4 GHz Exynos processor, sporting a 5 inch HD display. The front facing camera of J5 Prime is a 5 MP one with f/2.2 aperture, while all the other features are similar to the J7 Prime.
There’s only one storage option available – 16 GB – expandable up to 256 GB via microSD card. Meanwhile, out of the 16 GB, only 10.3 GB will be available to the user. 3 GB RAM is available on J7 Prime, while the J5 Prime has 2 GB RAM. The slots for the dual SIM and memory card are not hybrid. The nano-SIM slots sit below the volume buttons on the left. For Jio users, yes both phones support VoLTE!
These smart-phones will come with Android Marshmallow out of the box, with TouchWiz UI on top. Powering the J7 Prime is a 3300 mAh battery, while J5 Prime has a 2400 mAh battery. Both are non-removable ones.
J7 Prime and J5 Prime | Features
The company is also marketing features like S Power Planning and S Secure. While the former seems like an extension of Ultra Power Saving mode, the later is a feature which will help you store sensitive files securely on your phone, protected by the fingerprint security.
The S Power Mode goes very deep into the system to ensure long battery life. It has options for saving battery for calls, forward calls when battery is low and to select different levels of battery saving. There are three levels of power saving mode too.
S Secure has many features which enables user to hide apps, add a secure folder and even lets you use WiFi networks securely. The data you use will be encrypted to ensure security.
J7 Prime and J5 Prime | Availability and Price
The smart-phones are available in Gold and Black. The J7 Prime costs Rs. 18,790 and J5 Prime costs Rs. 14,790. J7 Prime is currently available offline as well as Samsung’s Indian site.
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