Samsung has just announced the Samsung Galaxy J3 (2018) which is the successor to the Galaxy J3 (2017) from last year. It is also known as the Galaxy J3 Star and Galaxy J3 Aura which are the T-Mobile and US Cellular versions respectively. The Galaxy J3 Star is an entry-level smartphone with some good specs which I’ll be discussing in this article. Without further ado let’s get right into it.
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2018) Key Specs
• 5.0 inches IPS LCD display
• Exynos 7570 processor
• 2GB of RAM
• 16GB built-in storage
• 8MP rear camera
• 5MP front-facing camera
• 4G LTE support
• 2,600 mAh battery
Design and Body
The design of the Galaxy J3 Star didn’t get an obvious change when it’s compared with its predecessor. It comes in a cheap plastic back and frame. Holding the phone in your hands isn’t an ish as it has a thickness of 8.9 mm and weighs about 152 grams. The phone feels in the hands even if it’s made with plastic. There’s no water resistance on this phone (not sure any entry-level smartphone is water-resistant).
Display
Coming to the display, the Galaxy J3 (2018) comes with a 5.0 inches IPS LCD display with an HD+ resolution of 720×1280 pixels and 294 pixels per inch density. The display is not using the better AMOLED panel but I guess Samsung went with an LCD panel as a way to keep the cost down. Unfortunately, there’s no protection on the screen.
Processor and Memory
The Samsung Galaxy J3 Star (J3 2018) is powered by the Exynos 7570 quad-core processor which has a maximum clock speed of 1.4 GHz. The processor is built on a 14nm fabrication process so it’s a bit power efficient. The Mali T720 GPU is in charge of graphics and gaming here.
The phone comes with 2GB and 16GB built-in storage with a dedicated micro SD card slot for expanding the storage if need be.
Camera
Coming to the camera department, there’s a single 8 megapixels rear camera with f/1.9 aperture and AutoFocus. The rear camera has HDR capabilities and can take panorama shots. It can record 1080p videos at 30 fps.
At the front, we have a 5 megapixels camera for taking selfies and video calls.
Battery and Charging
The Galaxy J3 Star comes with a removable Li-Ion 2,600 mAh battery. The battery is not huge but if you’re an average user it should be okay for you. As for charging, the phone has a micro USB port for charging. It doesn’t support fast charging at all.
Network and Connectivity
This phone has support for 4G LTE network which lets you have high internet speeds. It comes with WiFi, WiFi Direct, WiFi Hotspot, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, and FM radio. Samsung Galaxy J3 (2018) is available on T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon, and Cricket. You can also get an unlocked version.
Software
Samsung Galaxy J3 (2018) runs on Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. It is now upgradeable to Android 9 Pie.
