The Samsung J2 Prime 2016 is a budget offering from the South Korean tech titan which boasts of 4G LTE connectivity. Is it worth your money? Decide for yourself after reading this review of the J2 Prime 2016.
Build and design
In terms of design, Samsung isn’t offering anything new with the J2 Prime. The phone looks like your typical sub-P6,000 Samsung phone.
On the front side, there’s a 5-inch display with no mention of any protection, and just below it is a physical home button sandwiched by the non-lit multitasking and back button. The top part features the earpiece, the front-firing LED flash, the 5MP front camera, a LED notification, and the proximity sensor.
At the back, you will find the slightly protruding 8MP camera, LED flash, and the loudspeaker. The back cover is removable and has a non-slip grip pattern.
Removing it will give you access to the removable 2600 mAh battery, a dedicated slot for a microSD and slots for two SIMS. The J2 prime supports 4G LTE connectivity and can support up to 256GB of memory card.
The left edge houses the tactile volume buttons while the right edge features the power button. Meanwhile, the top edge is where you can find a 3.5mm headset jack while at the bottom edge, you can find the USB 2.0 connectivity port and the mic. USB OTG capability is also present in the J2 Prime.
Overall, the build is okay but the design is outdated already especially if you compare it against similarly priced handsets from its Chinese competitors. Some smartphones in its price range even has metal or glass backs.
Display
The J2 Prime has a 5-inch screen with pixel resolution of 540×960 pixels. Being a budget phone, Samsung opted to use a PLS TFT capacitive screen. Overall, the display is good considering the price. Reading text, browsing the ?Net, and watching videos is fine. It won’t blow you away but considering the price, it’s acceptable.
Performance
At the helm of the J2 Prime lies a budget Mediatek MT6737T four-core processor clocked at 1.4 GHz. For its GPU, it has a Mali T720MP2.
The J2 Prime 2016 also has a 1.5GB of RAM and 8GB internal storage. The J2 Prime ships with Android Marshmallow 6.0 out of the box.
The J2 Prime is a budget phone yet a capable one especially for casual use. Heavy users who frequently multitask or switch apps might not find it ideal for their usage.
Camera
The J2 Prime has a 5MP selfie camera with an f/2.2 aperture and LED flash to assist you in low-light situations. It also has an 8MP rear snapper with the same aperture opening, as well as a backfiring LED flash.
The rear camera supports the usual camera modes, and shoot videos in 720p. The J2 Prime comes with a feature called Quick Launch where you get instant camera access by simply double tapping the home button, even from sleep mode.
Below are sample shots from the cameras of the J2 Prime.
Battery
The phone is packed with a 2600 mAh removable battery which should last you till your shift ends. To prolong the battery life, you can activate what Samsung calls Maximum Power Saving Mode, which turns off all background running apps to drastically minimize battery consumption.
The verdict
The J2 Prime 2016 is a capable phone ideal for casual users. It could be a good backup phone for those who would like to have a reliable phone built by a proven brand.
Pros
- More recent Android OS Marshmallow with updated UI.
- Dual SIM with dedicated SIM slot
- Front-firing selfie flash
Cons
- Outdated design
- Plastic-built
