Samsung Galaxy J7: At First Glance
In 2015, Samsung released the Galaxy J7. You can think of Galaxy J7 as a bigger version of the Samsung Galaxy J3.
Six years after its release, many users are still interested in the Samsung Galaxy J7.
If you are one of those users, then you are in luck because the Samsung Galaxy J7 now goes for a cheaper price. Speaking of its price, at the time we updated this article in September 2021, it costs just $129.99.
Now that you know the price of the Samsung Galaxy J7, let us proceed to the value you will be getting for that price.
Samsung Galaxy J7: Design, Dimension & Weight
The Samsung Galaxy J7 features a rather bland and monotonous design. It is made of a polycarbonate plastic back casing, a glass front, and a chrome faux-metallic band running around the edges.
The front view of the Samsung Galaxy J7 is dominated by the 5.5-inch display with thick top and bottom bezels. The 5.5-inch screen size is just at the borderline of the screen size most smartphone users prefer.
Available data shows that the majority of smartphone users prefer a phone with a display size between 5 and 5.5-inches.
The top bezel houses the front camera, LED flash, proximity sensor, the speaker for phone calls, and a Samsung branding.
Meanwhile, the bottom bezel follows Samsung’s standard design which includes two capacitive controls and a Home button.
The Home button is flanked to the right by the Back key and flanked to the left by the Recent key. Unfortunately, both navigation keys do not have a backlight.
The Home button is surrounded by an aluminum ring and it is only a button, it does not have a fingerprint sensor. As a matter of fact, the Samsung J7 does not have a fingerprint reader anywhere else.
Moving on to the back view, the plastic back cover is removable and it features a matte finish in contrast to the glossy back cover of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. Thankfully, the matte cover prevents it from being a fingerprint magnet and the texture makes it firm to hold.
The back view contains the rear camera flanked to the left by the LED flash and to the right by a speaker. Somewhere close to the center of the back cover, there is a Samsung branding.
When you remove the back cover, the battery comes into view. You will also see the two SIM card slots both supporting 4G SIMS and a microSD card slot.
The bottom of the Samsung Galaxy J7 features a USB Type-C charging port by its center. The charging port is flanked by a 3.5mm headphone jack to its right and a microphone to its left.
Furthermore, the right side of the Samsung Galaxy J7 houses the power button for switching the phone on or off. The power button is also useful for turning the screen backlight on or off.
In terms of size and weight, the Samsung Galaxy J7 measures 152.4 x 78.6 x 7.5 mm and weighs 171 g. It is slightly heavier than most mobile phone users would prefer.
Our research shows that most users prefer a phone that weighs between 140 g and 170 g. However, the weight is still very close to the ideal weight preferred by most users.
In comparison with the size of the Samsung Galaxy J3, the Samsung Galaxy J7 is slightly larger and heavier but slightly slimmer. Specifically, the Samsung Galaxy J7 measures 142.2 x 71.1 x 7.6 mm and weighs 138.9 g.
When it comes to the color option, the Samsung Galaxy J7 is available in three colors – black, gold and white. Hence, users can choose a color that expresses their personality.
In summary, the Samsung Galaxy J7 is made of a low-quality polycarbonate plastic material. However, the design is uninteresting and I can’t call it elegant either.
In any case, the Samsung Galaxy J7 feels good to the grip and it does not attract fingerprints and smudges. Overall, the design has its positives and its negatives.
Hence, I will rate the Samsung Galaxy J7 a seven in this design review section.
Samsung Galaxy J7: Display Features
Samsung is a renowned maker of quality displays, the Samsung Galaxy J7 is proof of this. It features a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED screen.
One known advantage of AMOLED is its fast response time. Phones with this display technology also have impressive contrast ratios, strong colors, and sharpness.
Another advantage of AMOLED over its counterpart, IPS LCD is that AMOLED displays consume less battery power. This is a desirable quality as anything that reduces battery consumption on your phone is welcome.
In addition to the Super AMOLED display, Samsung has decided to use an HD (1280 x 720 pixels ) resolution which Is quite disappointing. In 2015 when this phone was released, a Full HD display would have sufficed better than an HD display.
The Samsung J7’s screen has a pixel density of 267 PPI which is below the industry standard pixel density of 300 PPI. However, graphics are sufficiently crisp snd sharp.
With a standard aspect ratio of 16:9, you will have a wide viewing angle for watching movies or playing games.
The Samsung Galaxy J7 features an outdoor mode that automatically sets the phone to a sufficient brightness level. This feature makes it possible to use your phone even on the hottest afternoons with the sun glaring down at your screen.
In conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy J7 display is above average. Therefore, I will rate the Samsung Galaxy J7 an eight in this display review section.
Samsung Galaxy J7: Camera Features
With the popularity of social media, a phone’s camera has become one of the most important buying considerations. Most people considering buying a phone wish to know how good the phone camera is.
To evaluate the quality of a phone’s camera, we review 3 features. These features are the camera’s megapixel, ƒ.stop number, and pixel size.
The Samsung Galaxy J7 has a rear camera with 13.0 MP and an ƒ.number of ƒ/1.9. The the ƒ.number of a camera determines the size of the aperture.
The smaller the ƒ.number, the bigger the aperture. Bigger apertures translate to better photos.
Moreover, the rear camera is capable of taking clear outdoor shots but the edges tend to lose details. Also, indoor pictures are usually noisy and grainy.
On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy J7’s front camera is much the same as most phones in its league. It has a 5 MP camera with an ƒ.number of ƒ/2.2.
The front camera is capable of taking nice selfies, especially in good lighting conditions.
The front camera also has a flash for taking night selfies. In addition to the flash, there is a beautification mode for smoothening out and beautifying the face.
The beautification mode setting can be controlled so the picture doesn’t get over-edited.
The camera of the Samsung Galaxy J7 is equipped with autofocus. Impressively, the time between focusing on the desired object and clicking is very fast.
Furthermore, the camera app of the Samsung Galaxy J7 is simple and uncomplicated. It has features such as a grid, timer, and some image filters.
Making videos with the Samsung Galaxy J7 is a smooth process. You will be able to record 1080p resolution videos at a steady 30fps.
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy J7 ships with an average camera. Hence, I will rate the Samsung Galaxy J7 a seven in this camera review section.
Samsung Galaxy J7: Battery Life and Talk Time
The Samsung Galaxy J7 ships with a removable Li-ion 3000 mAh battery. Its capacity is in line with that of smartphones in this category.
I am glad the battery is removable since that is usually not so common these days. A removable battery means you can swap out a drained battery with a charged one when you have a limited waiting time.
Also, if your battery gets damaged, you can change it yourself without the need to visit a service center.
Samsung has claimed 18 hours of 3G battery talk time for the Samsung Galaxy J7. As proof or disproof of this claim, I carried out a battery rundown test.
The test involved streaming an HD video over LTE while the screen brightness is set to maximum. Consequently, the Samsung Galaxy J7 lasted 6 hours and 21 minutes.
In comparison with the smaller Samsung Galaxy J3, the Samsung Galaxy J7 lagged behind in battery performance. Specifically, the Samsung Galaxy J3 with a smaller 2600 mAh battery lasted longer at 9 hours 27 minutes.
This performance is not in any way close to what Samsung claimed. However, this could be a result of the disparity in the workload.
If you put your Samsung Galaxy J7 to a more minimal workload than I performed in my test, it is possible to get longer battery life.
The Samsung Galaxy J7 does not support a fast charging feature. Specifically, getting the Samsung Galaxy J7 fully charged will take about 1 hour 40 minutes.
Finally, the Samsung Galaxy J7 also delivers an above-average performance in the battery department. Hence, I will rate the Samsung Galaxy J7 an eight in this battery review section.
Samsung Galaxy J7: Storage Options & Performance
When it comes to the storage department, the Samsung Galaxy J7 has 16 GB of internal storage. This is poor by all standards considering that the OS and pre-installed apps still occupy some portion of the 16 GB.
There is however an option to expand the storage space with a memory card. The microSD card slot can take up to 128 GB but this is limiting as well.
Sadly, at a time where people store a lot of files, photos, and videos on their phones, Samsung has decided to do the barest minimum in terms of storage. By the way, nothing stops Samsung from making the microSD card support up to 1 TB or more.
On a brighter note, users can utilize cloud storage for saving their data. Google Drive gives users 15 GB of free cloud storage which can be increased to 100 GB or more on paid plans.
Impressively, cloud storage is fast, easily accessible, and reliable. You don’t have to worry about losing data even when you change your phone.
In conclusion, I will rate the Samsung Galaxy J7 a six in this storage performance review section.
Samsung Galaxy J7: Security Features & Sensors
Smartphones have seen incredible technological evolution over the years. In recent years, smartphones have turned out to be more useful than just devices for making and receiving calls.
They are now more like digital assistants – they monitor our behavior, guess our needs and transmit them to the processor. All of these are possible through the help of sensors.
The security features and the sensors offered by Samsung Galaxy J7 are not impressive.
Firstly, it does not support a fingerprint reader for biometric authentication. Apparently, Samsung is still lagging behind in the technology revolution because even in 2015, biometric authentication was the norm.
However, as a means of security measure, users can use a pattern lock, pin code, or password.
Additionally, apart from lacking a fingerprint sensor, the phone does not come with a lot of other sensors as well. It only supports an accelerometer, hall sensor, and proximity sensor.
It does not support some important sensors like an ambient light sensor that automatically dims the light on a phone’s display. Most modern phones include this sensor.
Having said that, its accelerometer sensor is great as it helps detect the orientation of the phone and automatically turns the screen.
The Proximity Sensor is also very useful. The sensor detects when you are holding the phone near your face during a call and turns the display off.
This minimizes the phone’s battery consumption. Also, it is useful for preventing unintentional screen presses when not In use.
Furthermore, the hall sensor is a magnetic field sensor that employs the hall effect. Its practical application can be seen in the use of leather casing with magnetic straps.
When the leather is closed, the hall sensor detects the magnetic field from the leather and automatically turns off the screen.
In conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy J7 has a disappointing collection of sensors. Most disappointing is the absence of a fingerprint reader, which Samsung has refused to join in the trend with this phone.
Therefore, I will rate the Samsung Galaxy J7 a six in this security and sensors review section.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Samsung Galaxy J7 was launched in June 2015. At the time we updated this review in September 2021, the Samsung Galaxy J7 was a little bit over 6 years old.
No, the Samsung Galaxy J7 does not have a fingerprint reader for biometric authentication using the fingers. The available security options for the Samsung Galaxy J7 are the pattern lock, password, and Pin lock.
The Samsung Galaxy J7 is equipped with a 3000 mAh battery. How long the battery lasts depends on the workload you put it through. I carried out a battery rundown test which involved streaming an HD video over LTE while the screen brightness is set to maximum. Consequently, the Samsung Galaxy J7 lasted 6 hours and 21 minutes.
No, the Samsung Galaxy J7 is not waterproof.
No, the Samsung Galaxy J7 does not support fast charging. It takes about 1 hour 40 minutes to completely charge, unlike fast charging devices that take less than an hour.
No, the Samsung Galaxy J7 does not support wireless charging.
At the time we updated this review in September 2021, the Samsung Galaxy J7 costs $129.99.
The Samsung Galaxy J7 has a single 13 MP back camera and a 5 MP front camera for taking selfies. Both cameras are good for taking cool pictures in good lighting conditions but indoor shots are mostly plagued by noise.
No, the Samsung Galaxy J7 does not support the 5G network. However, it supports 4G, 3G, and 2G. The network support of the Samsung Galaxy J7 is broad, however, it would have been nicer if it supported 5G network as well.
The Samsung Galaxy J7 measures 152.4 x 78.6 x 7.5 mm and weighs 171 g. It is slightly heavier than most mobile phone users would prefer.
Our research shows that most users prefer a phone that weighs between 140 g and 170 g. However, the weight is still very close to the ideal weight preferred by most users.
The Samsung Galaxy J7 also has a 5.5-inch screen which is just the borderline of the screen size most smartphone users prefer. Available data shows that the majority of smartphone users prefer a phone with a display size between 5 and 5.5-inches.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy J7 lacks the unique touch that I had hoped for. Its lackluster design and average overall performance make it a tough one to recommend.
However, the front camera of the Samsung Galaxy J7 is a good one, especially for social media savvy users. Its front flash will make it easier to take cool selfies.
Furthermore, the AMOLED display of the Samsung Galaxy J7 is also a decent one even if the HD resolution screen was like a step back.
Finally, if the Samsung Galaxy J7 meets your fancy, now is the best time to buy it because it is cheaper now than the days of its early release.
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