What an update for samsung j7. SAMSUNG WORLD: Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) has received another update. Connectors and controls

Smartphone market leader, samsung, today provides an Oreo update for select Galaxy J smartphones.

Android 8.1 Oreo update kicks off today galaxy smartphone J7 Nxt, also known in some markets under a different name - Galaxy J7 Core. These phones have begun to receive updates in Asia, including Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines, notes Yordan on gsmarena.com.

Samsung Galaxy J7 Nxt / Galaxy J7 Core gets Android 8.1 Oreo

The service pack build number is J701FXXU6BRH9. Because it is provided over the air, not all users will receive it at the same time. However, users have the option to go to settings and check software updates.

This update includes a whole host of new features. These include picture-in-picture mode, autofill API and notification dots. Program interface Samsung Experience 9.0 also provides the ability to use two accounts in one messenger application. The update also includes the August 2018 security patch.

The main and almost the only external change in the design of the updated model is the use of metal in the case.

Fortunately, Samsung has taken into account our comments made during the review of the old Galaxy J7 and removed those wonderful plastic "chrome" bezels along the edge that were starting to "crawl" almost in the store. Here I, of course, exaggerate, but on the whole the situation was rather sad. The phone is absolutely contraindicated to be in the same pocket with the keys.

IN Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) solves the problem by using an aluminum frame with a high-gloss sanded strip. I don’t want to use an utterly hackneyed phrase, but there’s no escape when it’s true: the metal pleasantly cools the hand. It's smooth, but not slippery, so the phone doesn't try to slip out of your hand at the most inopportune moment. Due to the relatively wide, flat ends with slightly beveled edges, it is convenient to lift the phone from the table surface from any position.

In general, this update brought only pleasant impressions from appearance, and from practical use. In addition to metal, of the visible innovations, one can name only the plastic inserts for the antennas, which are present in every "metallized" Samsung smartphone this year, starting with.

The back frame is plastic, decorated with brushed metal. It is thin and comes off with some effort. However, with some patience, you can not be afraid that it will break.

The diagonal screen size remains the same at 5.5 inches. therefore dimensions also did not undergo significant changes: the width decreased by 2.7 millimeters and the thickness increased by 0.3 millimeters. The weight dropped by a whole gram to the 170 mark.

It's hard to say whether the phone has become more attractive, because beauty is a subjective matter. However, the new metal edging definitely helped the new model freshen up and not look as boring as before. In addition, the absence of plastic will no longer lead to the fact that the phone will lose its presentable appearance after a month of use.

Connectors and controls

The set of connectors and elements, as well as their location, completely repeats the sets in the previous J-series smartphones in 2016. Neither a fingerprint scanner nor an indicator of missed events appeared here.

Above the screen from left to right are the front camera, earpiece, proximity sensor and flash. There is no light sensor here, so the brightness is changed manually.

Below the screen: mechanical Home and touch Menu and Back. The buttons are not backlit.

The metal power button is located on the right side.

The volume rocker, consisting of two separate and again metal buttons, is on the left.

At the bottom there is a microphone, a microUSB connector and a 3.5 mm mini-jack for connecting a headset or headphones.

The rear panel is no different from that in: a loud external speaker, a camera peephole that protrudes slightly outside the body, and an LED flash.

Under the cover is a good old set of slots for two microSIM cards and microSD memory cards up to 128 GB.

Personally, I like this option more than the combined tray, which allows you to place either two SIM cards, or one SIM card and a memory card. However, there are a lot of instructions on how to combine a SIM card and a memory card, which will allow you to cram three elements into a double tray. However, this method does not guarantee their 100% performance, not to mention the risk of damaging one of the elements. And so, if you cannot cope with installing a SIM card or memory card, then our short video will help to solve the issue:

In principle, the ergonomics of the Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) are not satisfactory. All buttons and connectors are in their usual places, and the audio port transferred to the bottom end deserves a separate mark - so it is much more convenient to use it.

Case for Galaxy J7 (2016)

It is quite easy to buy a cover or cover for Galaxy J7 (2016) - there are quite a lot of them.

For such a cover for the Galaxy J7 (2016), they ask 1,500 rubles. It looks good, and the case can serve as a stand.

This cover for Galaxy J7 (2016) is made of leather and costs much more - 2,900 rubles.

A silicone case for Galaxy J7 (2016) also costs a lot - about 1,400 rubles.

There are also many other similar accessories on sale - after all, we are talking about a popular mass smartphone.

Galaxy J7 (2016) screen

The screen, or rather the resolution, inherited by the updated model Galaxy J7 (2016), is one of the most controversial issues. The screen size diagonally, we recall, is 5.5 inches, and the resolution is 1280x720 pixels, which means a low density of dots per unit area.

In this case, the PPI value is 267. Frankly speaking, it is not the highest value, after all HD for a 5.5-inch screen has long been considered too modest a parameter. However, thanks to Samsung's tweaks in the form of a slightly larger font there, slightly enlarged icons here, and so on, everything looks pretty smooth, without a "ladder" of individual pixels.

In addition, I want to note that mostly people who are carried away pay attention to the little things in the form of pixels. For many users, this parameter represents a much smaller value than, for example, the number of megapixels of the camera, if you know what I mean. Finally, we should pay tribute to Samsung: the company's assortment includes the Galaxy J7 (2016) model with a Full HD screen and three gigabytes. random access memorybut it is only for the East Asian markets.

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016), like the rest of the J-series smartphones, including the old "seven" of 2015, uses a matrix made using Super AMOLED technology. What does this mean? About rich color reproduction with the ability to adjust, about a high level of brightness, good readability in the sun and "correct" display of blacks. The maximum white brightness is 398.89 cd / m2, which deserves a good mark.

Four color profiles can be selected in the screen settings. I settled on a rich Responsive, which offers more "flashy" colors, and Basic with more "calm" colors. The image clearly shows how the color gamut in Adaptive mode exceeds the sRGB space, while when using the Basic profile, the colors are only slightly outside of it.

When using the Adaptive Profile, the color temperature differs from the reference 6500K by about 1300-1500K. As a result, the colors are at least "colder" - a little, but noticeable. The colors of the Main Profile look "softer" due to the fact that the color temperature is much closer to 6500K and differs by 200-300K.

Finally, the last screen test is to measure the gamma curve for the two profiles. In this case, the curves for both Adaptive and Basic coincide and generally show a slight deviation, so that the picture will be displayed with the desired brightness.

The screen sensor recognizes 10 simultaneous touches.

The light sensor is not here or is not used in this version of the OS. In any case, leafing through the specification of the smartphone on various resources, including the official one, I did not find any mention of it.

Overall, resolution aside, I liked the screen. Sensitive, with good and customizable color reproduction, bright - the screen is definitely good. What it lacks in my opinion is the additional settings that Samsung usually leaves for the flagship S-series of devices. Although it was worth keeping the auto brightness adjustment, it is much more convenient with it.

Galaxy J7 (2016) camera

If we go straight to the conclusion, then the same conclusion can be made about both cameras of the phone: good, but no frills. I do not have the ability, like iFixit, to disassemble smartphones and compare components, so my conclusion is based on my own observations.

According to them, the old and updated Galaxy J7 models are equipped with the same photo modules. However, there is nothing wrong with that, since the 2015 J7 got some very good cameras. This is probably why Samsung decided: if it works, don't touch it.

The main camera takes pictures with a maximum resolution of 13 MP (4128x3096), but only for an aspect ratio of 4: 3. For a 16: 9 aspect ratio, which most displays on TVs, monitors and mobile devices, the resolution drops to 9.6 MP.

The settings also "migrated" from the old Galaxy J7. In normal mode, you can select a filter, turn on / off the flash, and set a timer.

In Pro mode, white balance, ISO and exposure compensation settings are added.

Among the rest of the settings, you can choose shooting in HDR, panoramic and continuous shooting, and others.

The shots come out pretty decent, especially outdoors with good lighting conditions. I also suggest taking a look at last year's camera review to increase the number of photos to evaluate.

The video is shot in Full HD resolution. Obviously, 2K is left for flagship smartphones to keep the intrigue.

The quality of the video, as well as the photo, is excellent, so you can safely take out your tripod and shoot time-lapse videos of your city.

The resolution of the images of the front camera again depends on the selected aspect ratio. The maximum is only available for 4: 3. The settings correspond to those of the Galaxy J5 (2016) and the old model Galaxy J7 - the choice of self-portrait, group photo and so on.

The quality of the pictures, given that it is still front-camera - excellent. Color rendition, white balance, sharpness - nothing to complain about. In addition, the front camera is equipped with a flash. Personally, I have never used it like that, but perhaps someone will find a use for it.

Maximum Full HD resolution is available for video.

I suggest you evaluate the quality of the picture yourself. My opinion is still the same - great. What else can I say if this is really so?

In general, as mentioned in the beginning, both cameras shoot perfectly. The only drawback is the simplified menu and modest settings. Samsung leaves more advanced features to the flagships, although I believe that these cameras are also quite capable of coping with them.

Galaxy J7 (2016) specifications

I chose last year's Galaxy J7 as my opponent. The novelty is equipped with a different processor and more RAM, so I'm curious how significant the difference in performance between the two models is with a difference of one year. I got a Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) labeled SM-J710FN.

In addition to the metal in the body, the changes also affected the filling of the smartphone. The display is probably the same, but the Galaxy J7 (2016) gets new processor, more RAM, an NFC chip and a larger battery. And also a more recent version of the operating system.

The Exynos 7870 processor is an upgrade from the 7580 found in the old Galaxy J7. It is made on a 14nm process technology, includes eight Cortex-A53 cores with clock frequency up to 1.6 GHz and, as Samsung promises, is more energy efficient. Unfortunately, the first and so far the only device equipped with the Exynos 7870 is the Galaxy J7 (2016), so the processor has not yet appeared on popular resources and there is little information about it.

As for the graphics accelerator, the Mali-T830 MP2 is a mid-range solution in the T800 line of accelerators and is intended for mid-price solutions. In general, even the old model Galaxy J7 did not suffer from a lack of performance with a weaker Mali-T720 MP2 video card, including in games, so the more perfect Galaxy J7 (2016) should not fail.

The J7 (2016) comes with 2GB of RAM - more than the 2015 Galaxy J7, which only got 1.5GB. Today it is already a standard. Also, the battery capacity was increased from 3000 to 3300 mAh, an NFC chip was added and Android 6.0.1 was installed. What is not here is a gyroscope, so for glasses virtual reality a smartphone will not work. The built-in memory is 16 GB, of which 11 GB are available.

In general, the changes are quite significant - a new chip, more "RAM", a fresh operating system. However, it is not yet clear how this will affect practice, so let's move on to testing performance and battery life.

Performance testing

As a competitor, as I said, was last year's J7. Let's see what changes Samsung managed to achieve in the middle price range.

The results of the system-wide Quadrant test again showed who is the weak link today and who will not pull World of Tanks Blitz today. However, the gap is not that great, although the test is already a bit old. What will more modern tests show?

The SunSpider browser test (the lower the better) showed the same: Galaxy J7 (2016) pulls ahead, but not as much as you would expect after Antutu launch.

Finally, graphics performance tests. A modern smartphone copes with this task better, but on the whole the numbers obtained demonstrate that both devices can be safely attributed to strong "middlings" and try to play any games on them.

Galaxy J7 (2016) in Antutu

And let's see how the smartphone performed in the popular Antutu test.

As you can see, the overall test showed a significant superiority of the new model. The difference was almost 12,000 points - quite impressive.

Galaxy J7 (2016) battery life

In terms of autonomy from Galaxy J7 (2016), I expect at least good results. The fact is that Samsung not only increased the battery capacity, but also used the battery itself, which, together with the new 14nm processor, will discharge extremely slowly.

According to the results of testing the autonomy of the device, the Galaxy J7 (2016) was able to outperform the Galaxy J7 by 5%. Considering that the old model once showed a very good result, significantly outperforming with a 4000 mAh battery, then Samsung's words about the improved energy efficiency of the new processor can be considered true. The Galaxy J7 (2016) was very reluctant to part with the battery charge percentage and in general the smartphone turned out to be very tenacious, showing excellent results. Even a brick smartphone with a 5000 mAh battery is unlikely to reach such an indicator.

Traditionally, the maximum expense was spent on games. What to do for correct work "Heavy" applications smartphone needs all its resources. But when listening to music, reading and at rest, the battery was practically not discharged.

If, somewhere on the road, you find that the battery is running out soon, Samsung suggests using the power saving mode, which changes the color scheme to black and white and turns off most of the modules. With its help, even a couple of percent of the charge can be stretched for a considerable time. To this you can add a customized list of applications that will be disabled if they are not used for a long time.

In general, testing has proven that the J7 (2016) really got a more productive filling than the old model. Although for the most part the superiority was insignificant, I still think the result is excellent, since last year's Galaxy J7 is also "not bastard". Although I was especially personally pleased with the improved battery life of the Galaxy J7 (2016).

Games on Galaxy J7 (2016)

The time has come for real tests - games. In short, the Galaxy J7 (2016) coped with everything with a bang.

• Riptide GP2: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Asphalt 7: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Asphalt 8: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Modern combat 5: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• N.O.V.A. 3: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Dead trigger: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Dead trigger 2: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Real Racing 3: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Need For Speed: No Limits: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Shadowgun: Dead Zone: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Frontline Commando: Normandy: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Frontline commando 2: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Eternity warriors 2: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Eternity warriors 4: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Trial Xtreme 3: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Trial Xtreme 4: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Dead effect: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Dead effect 2: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Plants vs Zombies 2: excellent, the game does not slow down;

• Dead target: excellent, the game does not slow down.

Some games, for example, Iron Man 3, were not in Google playso they have been removed from the list. But even without that, you can see: on the Galaxy J7 (2016) you can play everything, and without any problems.

BY

The main difference in the pre-installed software is itself operating system android version 6.0.1. It is distinguished from Android 5 by a lot of innovations: permissions for applications, simplified volume control, an updated list of applications with the most frequently used programs, and so on. More details about the innovations in. However, the TouchWiz shell somewhat neutralizes these differences, so at first glance the number of changes may seem rather modest.

Otherwise, all software migrated here from last year's Galaxy J7 and is no different from the Galaxy J5 (2016). For example, branded google apps and Microsoft.

And this is already a set of applications from Samsung.

In addition, as you flip through the desktops, you can stumble upon Briefing, a customizable global news aggregator. For those who do not need it, then you should perform a pinch gesture with two fingers, go to the table with this application and turn the switch to the appropriate position.

For me personally, usability is always important, so the first thing I do is set up quick access to the switches. Let me remind you that if the "shutter" is "pulled" not with one, but with two fingers, the full list of switches opens.

Then I meet additional settings... Unfortunately, most of the tastiest Samsung reserves for more expensive devices, so the list of such settings in the Galaxy J7 (2016) is rather modest. But there is, of course, something. For example, since we're aiming for a 5.5-inch screen, it makes sense to experiment with the settings for one-handed operation.

For me personally, the reduced window and small keyboard were not very convenient. Perhaps this is a matter of habit. The window shrinking mode is activated after pressing the Home button three times.

These additional features are worth using for a while to see if they are useful to you. Since there is no indicator of missed events in the Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016), smart notifications can be very useful.

In the display settings, you can choose whether to use a background for the icons.

Smart Manager is a convenient and effective application that has become part of the settings. It displays general statistics on the state of the smartphone with the ability to view more detailed information.

And this is a view of running applications with a convenient "Close all" button.

Finally, a set of standard applications - dialer, contact editing, settings with a choice of shortcuts for quick access, voice recorder and others.

While testing the settings and pre-installed software, one word constantly spun in my language - modest. On the one hand, everything you need and a little more is here. But compared to flagship devices, the mid-range models seem like simple "balalaikas".

Conclusion

If we compare the Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) with its predecessor, then the new product surpasses the old model in several respects: body, performance, software and autonomous work... Taken separately, each innovation does not represent any fundamental change. But in the aggregate, Samsung has turned out to be a very interesting model that could become better than an already decent smartphone.

I would also like to note excellent autonomy smartphone, which surpassed the Galaxy J7 2015, without undue modesty excellent. In second place is the metal case, which avoided unnecessary boredom in the outlines of the smartphone. The third place on my impromptu achievement list is shared by two good cameras and high level performance that allows you to run any games on a mid-range smartphone.

The main and perhaps the only drawback is the screen resolution. However, as I said before, thanks to Samsung's tricks, an undemanding user will not pay any attention to this shortcoming.

Price Galaxy J7 (2016)

You can buy Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) for 19 thousand rubles. For comparison, the 2015 model can be purchased for 15.5-16 thousand rubles. How will competitors respond?

Meizu M3 Note can be purchased from an official software distributor average price 16.5 - 17 thousand rubles. The smartphone is equipped with a 5.5-inch IPS-screen with Full HD resolution, eight-core MediaTek Helio P10 (MT6755) with an accelerator Mali-T860 MP2, 2 gigabytes of RAM, 16 gigabytes of internal memory, a battery with a capacity of 4100 mAh and a combined SIM tray cards and memory cards, gPS navigation / GLONASS and LTE support. Among the disadvantages compared to the Galaxy J7 (2016) is the older Android OS version 5.1 and worse battery life.

This model is not so common, but for 18-18.5 thousand rubles a set of characteristics deserves attention. In the first place is a 5000 mAh battery, alas - non-removable, as well as a fingerprint scanner. The smartphone is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (MSM8939) processor with eight cores and a clock speed of 1.5 GHz, an Adreno 405 accelerator, 3 GB of RAM, 32 GB of internal memory and support for memory cards up to 128 GB. Supports 4G standard and Wi-Fi 802.11ac interface.

Pros:

• improved design compared to its predecessor;
• metal sidewalls;
• high-quality assembly;
• more efficient processor and video card;
• increased amount of RAM;
• higher capacity battery and record autonomy;
• flash for the front camera;
• decent quality cameras;
• high quality screen Super AMOLED;
• convenient location of the audio jack;
• collapsible body;
• preinstalled Android 6.

Minuses:

• no automatic screen brightness adjustment;
• low screen resolution for 5.5 "diag.
• no event LED.

Owners budget smartphone Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) again received a bonus from the manufacturer in the form of an August firmware update (J730FMXXU3ARF2 / J730FMOXY3ARF2 / J730FMXXU3ARG1).
The file is over 250MB in size, and the accompanying text says the update brings bug fixes, stability improvements and functionality enhancements. In particular, new firmware Samsung's proprietary browser opens up direct access to downloading the game, which was advertised at the recent Galaxy Note9 presentation as exclusive to the owners of the new flagship. Apparently, the owners of other smartphone models of the South Korean electronics giant also get priority access to Fortnite.
It should also be recalled that the Galaxy J7 (2017) and its modifications are expected to be upgraded to the next version of Android (namely, to Oreo 8.1). It is guaranteed to work with intelligent voice bixby assistant, although the likelihood that this software will open for a budget model is not very high.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that the Galaxy J7 (2017) series is still considered the best in the budget. samsung line, since it provides the owner with almost all the basic functions that the more expensive premium models of the A series do. For example, these devices boast a solid metal case, a good Super AMOLED display with Full HD resolution, a sensitive fingerprint scanner, KNOX proprietary data protection system, full support payment service Samsung Pay (MST + NFC), excellent 13-megapixel cameras with flash (both main and front), Always On Display mode (always on screen), separate slots for 2 SIM-cards and an additional microSD memory card, 3GB RAM and very good performance.
Plus, Galaxy J7 (2017) owners are enjoying the benefits of various services Samsung type cloud storage and bonuses such as the aforementioned priority access to new game content. And all this for a very reasonable price at which you can now buy such a well-balanced and reliable device.

Update: at the end of September 2018 in Russia Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) received