Samsung Galaxy J-Series 2016 Philippines : J1, J3, J5, J7 Prices Upon Launch, Key Specs, Competing Devices

As of today - July 10, 2016, Samsung Mobile is still heavily promoting this new bunch of Android smartphones here in the Philippines.

I made this post for all of my readers who've been sending me inquiries about each of these handsets since last month when the company's video ads went live on primetime TV.

Samsung Galaxy J-Series 2016 is composed of four fresh models (plus the J1 Mini) that Pinoys can now get via the company's concept stores and authorized retail outlets nationwide, including the official online channel argomall[dot]com.

Allow me to talk about these relatively budget-friendly Galaxy smartphones one by one.

Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini
Official Suggested Retail Price: Php 3,990
Competing Devices: O+ Crunch, Huawei Y5c, Motorola Moto E LTE, Cherry Mobile One, MyPhone My32, CloudFone Excite Prime, Cherry Mobile Flare S3 Power, Cherry Mobile Omega 4G, Cherry Mobile Omega HD Nitro, O+ 8.38z, O+ Online Supreme Kit, Cherry Mobile Flare S3 Octa, Cherry Mobile Flare S Play, Torque Droidz Octave, Cubix Cube 3

Quietly released in March 2016, Dual SIM Dual Standby model Galaxy J1 Mini is smallest and most affordable smartphone in this series. This one has a 4-inch 480 x 800 pixels TN display, 5 MegaPixel fixed focus main camera, 0.3 MP front cam, HD video recorder, 3G HSPA+ support, and a 1,850 mAh battery pack delivering a whole day of uptime. Under the hood, it runs TouchWiz-skinned Android Lollipop 5.1 OS with a Quad-core 1.5 GHz Spreadtrum SC8830 processor, 768MB of RAM, and comes with 8GB of storage that can be beefed up via microSD card slot.

Samsung Galaxy J1 2016
Official Suggested Retail Price: Php 5,490
Competing Devices: Cherry Mobile Infinix Pure XL, Cherry Mobile Flare 4, O+ M, O+ Ultra Lite, Starmobile Knight Vision, Starmobile Knight Luxe, MyPhone My35, LG K4 LTE, Huawei Y6, O+ Upsized, Cherry Mobile Flare S4, Alcatel Pixi 4, Torque Droidz Motion, Torque Droidz Rotate

Already quite a hit in our country, Samsung Galaxy J1 2016 is equipped with a 4.5-inch 480 x 800 pixels SuperAMOLED display - which is known for its brilliance and energy-efficiency. It also comes replete with a 5 MegaPixel fixed focus main camera at the back, 2MP front cam for selfies, 3G HSPA+ support, and a 2,050 mAh battery pack. Inside, this Android Lollipop handset is powered by the combination of Quad-Core 1.3 GHz Exynos 3475 processor, 1GB of RAM, and 8 GB of expandable storage.

Samsung Galaxy J3 2016
Official Suggested Retail Price: Php 8,990
Competing Devices: Asus ZenFone Max, Cherry Mobile Flare Mate, Asus ZenFone 2 Laser 5.5 S, O+ Ultra 2.0, Cherry Mobile Flare Selfie, Cherry Mobile Flare S4 Plus, Huawei P8 Lite, MyPhone Infinity 2 Lite, Lenovo S660, LG K10 LTE, OPPO A37

Going against feature-packed midrange models of other international brands and flagship releases of local brands, Samsung Galaxy J3 2016 sure has a lot to live up to and accomplish for the company. This 4G enabled handset flaunts a 5-inch HD SuperAMOLED display panel which used to be found only on high-end Galaxy releases, 8 MegaPixel autofocus main camera, high-res 5 MegaPixel selfie cam, and a removable 2,600 mAh battery pack. Inside, it is powered by a 1.5 GHz Quad Core SC9830 processor by Spreadtrum, has 1.5GB of RAM, and a total of 24GB of storage right out of the box.

Samsung Galaxy J5 2016
Official Suggested Retail Price: Php 11,990
Competing Devices: OPPO F1 Selfie Expert, Asus ZenFone 3 5.2-inch, Vivo V3, Huawei GR5, Asus ZenFone Selfie, Lenovo S850, Lenovo Vibe K4 Note

In terms of design, the Galaxy J5 2016 looks like a cross between the 2015 model that it superseded and a current Galaxy A-series handset. The mid-frame is crafted from aluminum while the removable back plate is still made of plastic. Some key features of this model include 5.2-inch HD SuperAMOLED display, 13 MegaPixel autofocus main camera with f/1.9 aperture, 5 MP selfie cam, removable 3,100 mAh battery pack, Dual SIM capability, and 4G LTE support. At its heart, it runs its TouchWiz-skinned Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS with a Quad Core Qualcomm MSM8916 Snapdragon 410, has 2GB of RAM, and comes with 16GB of internal storage that's expandable via a dedicated microSD card slot supporting up to 128GB.

Samsung Galaxy J7 2016
Official Suggested Retail Price: Php 14,990
Competing Devices: Huawei Honor 6, Huawei G8, Lenovo Vibe X2, Starmobile Knight Spectra, Starmobile Knight X, Asus ZenFone 2 ZE551ML

The larger and more powerful version of the J5 2016, the Samsung Galaxy J7 2016 - which is obviously the most premium of the bunch - also has the same elegant design replete with real metal mid-frame. This one comes with a 5.5-inch HD SuperAMOLED display, 13 MegaPixel autofocus main cam with f/1.9 aperture and 5 MegaPixel Selfie Cam combo just like its smaller sibling, 4G LTE support, Dual SIM capability, and a removable 3,300 mAh battery pack. Underneath its shell, it runs its TouchWiz-flavored Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system with a Qualcomm MSM8952 Snapdragon 617 (better than Snapdragon 410 inside J5 2016), has 2GB of RAM, and comes with 16GB of storage, which users can easily beef up using the microSD card slot.

Samsung Galaxy J-Series

All Galaxy J-Series 2016 smartphones come with the company's Ultra Power Saving mode that disables WiFi and Mobile Data connectivity, limits features, and turns the screen to black and white to greatly extend the battery life in dire situations. Both J5 and J7 2016 feature the company's new Signal Max technology that - as the name suggests - boosts signal reception for clearer calls and - possibly - faster data connection.

Clearly made for developing or growing smartphone markets such as the Philippines, Samsung Galaxy J-Series along with the new On-Series are the most budget-friendly of all current lines of Android smartphones by the Korean Giant. There's also the upper midrange A-series, which features handsets with full metal frame. And of course, we have the flagship-level S-series and Note models that come with the absolute best technical specifications and build quality that the company has to offer in the mobile devices category.