Introduction
The smartphone jungle can be confusing, but the Samsung Galaxy J7 is surprisingly easy to decipher: J for "affordable price" and 7 for "big screen". This is the lite version of the Galaxy A7, offering semi-premium features but confined to the midrange. Another way to look at it is as an E7 Plus.The attention-grabbing features start at the 5.5" Super AMOLED screen(Samsungs latest units have all had accurate colors and great sunlight legibility). Theres also a 64-bit octa-core processor, a selfie camera with a dedicated LED flash and a main camera with a wide f/1.9 aperture and Pro mode.
The Galaxy J7 is one of those phones that care more about the size of the screen than its resolution and so it settles for 720p. The difference to Galaxy A7s 1080p screen is for the most part cosmetic but the practical difference is quite big - you get 20% more space for apps and web pages on the A7.Key features
Dual-SIM phone with LTE connectivity
5.5" Super AMOLED of 720 x 1, 280px resolution, ~267ppi
Snapdragon 615 version: 64-bit chipset, octa-core Cortex-A53 processor(four cores at 1.5GHz and four at 1GHz); Adreno 405 GPU; 1.5GB of RAM
Exynos 7580 version: 64-bit chipset, octa-core Cortex-A53 processor(eight cores at 1.5GHz); Mali-T720MP2 GPU; 1.5GB of RAM
Android 5.1 Lollipop with TouchWiz, theme support
13MP camera capable of 1080p video recording, 5MP front-facing camera, 1080p video
16GB of built-in storage
Wi-Fi b/g/n, GPS/GLONASS, Bluetooth 4.1, ANT+, NFC(Exynos version only)
3, 000mAh battery720p resolution stretched a bit thin on the 5.5" screen
No fingerprint, no NFC on some models and certainly no Samsung Pay
No MHL(but USB OTG is supported)
The main camera is a 13MP unit - a pretty standard choice for the midrange - but the f/1.9 aperture elevates it above average and will make a difference at low-light scenes. The J7 is well-equipped for low-light selfies too, with a dedicated LED flash to help the 5MP front-facer.
The Galaxy J7 is a dual-SIM phone, Samsung didnt bother with a single-SIM version. No huge loss if you ask us, unlike the A-series this one has separate slots for two SIMs and a microSD. Fast LTE data can be used on either card, making the J7 practical for travel or getting the most out of two data plans.