Once the market leader in the entry level and mid-range smartphones, Samsung is lagging behind in the past two years thanks to the influx of very affordable devices of the size of Xiaomi and others. Now, in an effort to update their budget bids, Samsung has introduced the new Galaxy J6, which is its most affordable phone yet to sport an infinity screen with a 18.5:9 aspect ratio.
Samsung Galaxy J6 Design
The Galaxy J6 has a refreshing design. With a high display, comfortable grip and smooth body, this mid-range headset is quite the looker. It’s 8.2 mm thick, which makes you feel comfortable in your hand. Added to this, as we have noticed in our first impressions, the back panel is not quite opaque or shiny, which means it does not pick up unnecessary stains.
Sport curved front phone-glass curved-edge 2.5D for the 18.5:9 Infinity Display. This is another point for this budget offer, as Samsung has used one of its 5.45 inch Super AMOLED panels with a HD + resolution (720×1480 pixel). As is the case with AMOLED screens, the colors are crisp and accurate, the blacks are deep, and the brightness is decent, although some find the resolution to be disappointing.
Above the display, there is an 8 megapixel selfie camera, a selfie light and the earpiece. Below it, for the first time in a Samsung Galaxy J-Series smartphone, is not a physical button. Instead, the Home, back, and overview buttons are on the screen. Depending on the applications that support extended screen resolution, buttons can appear on the screen at any time.
On the left, the Galaxy J6 has volume buttons, one tray for Sim 1, and a second tray for Sim 2 and a MicroSD card. Sport right earpiece a lock/power button and a small speaker slot. The micro-USB port, microphone and 3.5 mm headphone jack are located at the bottom. Finally, the distribution box includes a power adaptor 5v/1a (5w), a USB cable, a SIM ejector tool, a wired headphone and a couple of quick start guides.
Samsung Galaxy J6 Specifications and software
The new Galaxy J6 is powered by Samsung at the Octa-core Exynos 7870 SOC, which is one of the most disappointing aspects of this mid-range offer. This processor has been Samsung’s favorite choice for budget models for the past two years, with the segment asking for an upgrade. We are reviewing the variant with 4GB of RAM and 32 GB of storage, but Samsung also launched the Galaxy J6 with 4GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage.
In terms of software, the Samsung Galaxy J6 runs the Samsung Experience 9.0 UI on the top of the Android 8.0 Oreo, which we saw earlier on the company’s most Premium phones. The Android level security patch is dated April 1, 2018. The Home screen gets a predetermined weather and time widget at the top, Google search bar and links to Google and Microsoft applications. Sliding left reveals the Bixby Home screen which has a plethora of widgets and apps that showcase Facebook trends, calendar, reminder, YouTube tips, weather information, news, and more.
The Setup menu is full of accessibility features and options, just like any other Samsung offer on the market. Video chat is an ingenious feature that displays the incoming WHATSAPP and SMS messages as translucent overlays while watching videos. There is also a translucent keyboard so you can respond without pauses. The S Bike mode, which debuted with the J-Series models last year, aims to promote two-wheel security by disabling calls and notifications when you are on the move.
Regarding the front, the Galaxy J6 has an 8 megapixel camera with the same aperture f/1.9. A selfie light was provided, which should not be confused with a real flash. Instead, it provides a little better lighting to help reduce noise in little light. Daylight selfies are nice, but those taken at night are not usually worth publishing in social media. You can use the sticker mode in the camera application to add one of several funky selfie filters, a feature that you see on Samsung S-Series flagship phones as well.
The video recording has a full-HD (1080p) resolution limit and auto focus is fine. The videos are unstable in the absence of any type of EIS (electronic image stabilization).
Galaxy J6 battery– Samsung is promoting the J6 galaxy for its battery life. 3000mAh’s capacity may seem relatively low on the spec sheet, but this phone handles great standby time. It lasts for an entire day at full load with regular use including a couple of hours of video broadcasting, which is on par with other options in the same price segment. In our test of the HD video loop battery, the smartphone lasted 14 hours and 10 minutes, surpassing the ASUS ZenFone Max Pro M1 and Inches close to the rating of the REDMI Pro Note 5 that it has a larger battery 4000mAh. However,charging is frustrating as it takes almost an hour to reach 40 percent, and more than 2.5 hours to hit 100 percent of the mark.
The Samsung Galaxy J6 is not branded in terms of power or value for money, compared to its contemporaries such as the REDMI 5 Pro Note and ZenFone Max Pro M1. Given the choice between the Exynos 7870 and the Qualcomm Dragon 636, the latter is definitely the most powerful.The slow charging and mediocre cameras are also very important drawbacks, but the biggest problem is that Samsung has skimped on the basic features like an ambient light sensor, digital compass, and fast charge, which could be dark spots for many people.
However, this phone is a much needed update on Samsung’s budget series, and will not be lost in the crowd. Some of its advantages are its Super AMOLED Infinity display, smooth and lightweight body, and reliable battery life.
Galaxy J6 specifications:
Display-5.60-inch
Processor-1.6GHz octa-core
Front Camera-8-megapixel
Resolution-720×1480 pixels
RAM-3GB
OS-Android 8.0
Storage-32GB
Rear Camera-13-megapixel
5.6″ HD+ Super AMOLED with Infinity Display
13MP (F1.9) Rear and 8MP (F1.9) Front Camera with Front LED Flash
2 SIM Slots and 1 MicroSD Card slot for Storage Up to 256GB
Battery Capacity-3000mAh
Photo:Samsung
