Samsung J2 2017 - is it even worth talking about?

Samsung introduced the J series in 2015 with the original J, J5 and J7 2015. The J5 and J7 were quite popular due to their pricing and decent offerings for the price. However there was a void between the basic J device and the J5 and J7. Hence, Samsung introduced the J2 along with the J3. The J2 2015 was a very average device which got a successor in 2016 with a feature called Smart Glow and strangely managed to sell millions of units.
After almost a year, its time for the 2017 variant and Samsung did recently announce it in India.

J2 2017

Specifications:

• 4.7 inch qHD (quarter HD 540×960) super AMOLED display
• 1.3gHz quad core Exynos 3475 SOC
• 1GB RAM 8GB internal storage expandable upto 128GB via sdcard
• 5MP rear camera with LED flash
• 2MP front facing camera 
• Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, GLONASS
• Micro USB port, 3.5mm audio jack
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, 2.4gHz band support
• 2000mAh battery
• 8.4mm thick and weighs 130g
• Sensors: accelerometer and proximity

These specifications seem quite similar to any ultra low budget offering. However the device has been priced at Rs. 7390 in India. Samsung, with this pricing seems to have been inspired from its 2014-15 days when it could sell any device even with very average specs. 

Design:

Speaking of the design, it resembles to any other Samsung budget offering or rather identical to J2 2015. The device seems like any 2015 phone that has not been received well back then and now they are attempting to clear those stocks with a new sequel name and new software. It comes with a usual polycarbonate body with removable back cover. The rear houses the camera with speaker and LED flash located on either side. The front comes with a home button at the bottom along with touch type capacitive buttons for back and recent tasks. 

Performance and camera:

The J2 2017 is powered by Exynos 3475 SOC which is a 4 core SOC clocked at 1.3gHz. This SOC is based on Cortex A7 which is an age old architecture used on this device. The GPU is Mali T720. The same specs were also found on the J2 2015 and hence my claim of clearing old stocks of Samsung stands true here. 

The rear camera is of 5MP f/2.2 aperture and comes with Auto focus. The front facing camera is of 2MP. The rear camera can capture 720p resolution videos at 30FPS. Nothing much can be expected from this hopeless combination of camera as well as hardware and the story of available sensors is more pathetic since Samsung likes to eliminate them from budget devices.

Software:

Speaking of software, well the device comes with age old Android 5.1.1, the same found on the J2 2015. It does come with a smart manager which is just a software feature to monitor your device's storage, RAM and so on. Can Android N be expected?? Well NEVER. The positive here is that it comes with latest security update. 

Final thoughts:

The design, specs, battery, camera all are identical to the 2015 variant. This is indeed a poor attempt from Samsung to sell any Crap for any amount. The asking rate of Rs. 7390 can fetch you a Xiaomi Redmi 4 with far better specs. Even the Moto C will do a better job. Usually, how much ever bad a device can be, it does suit a particular audience although it doesn't apply here. The battery is a minimal 2000mAh as compared to 4000mAh provided by the equivalent contenders, the design consists of a plastic body as against metal with the Redmi 4, the SOC is far better again on the contenders. These points should conclude the better offering and choice. 

The only positive point that should be noted is that Samsung is offering a Super AMOLED display even under Rs. 10000, however that should not be a selling point. The device will be available in 2 colours i.e gold and black. 

I know that I have been quite harsh here however when brands tend to sell such devices for unnecessarily high price tag, its our responsibility to point out the flaws and recommend better products. If you have any suggestions and feedback, do leave them in the comments below.