Like a quiet little snake attacking its prey, Samsung silently released the Galaxy J2 2017 into the Indian/Pakistani market; before it’s official announcement. Pricing it at a very competitive price of Rs. 14,000, the Galaxy J2 2017 has both ups and downs.

Plastic over Metal

Unfortunately for customers, the Galaxy J2 2017 is not cladded in metal, instead it is made of plastic so it’s bound to feel cheap. On the back we have a camera module from 2014: 5MP with 720p recording. You can look all you want, but you won’t find a fingerprint scanner on this budget phone.

On the front we have a 4.7-inch screen Super AMOLED screen, a rare gem in the sea of IPS LCD displays down here. Besides the screen we have big bezels on the top and bottom of the phone. The bottom one is where the home button and capacitive touch buttons can be found whereas the front facing 2MP camera is sits.

Being plastic and a budget phone, the Galaxy J2 2017 weighs in at a light 130g with maximum thickness reaching 8.4mm. Since the phone is made of plastic, the battery is replaceable, something that’ll be a hit or miss with customers since it provides functionality over design.

2014 called, it wants its low resolution screen back

Bound to be a dismay to many, the Galaxy J2 2017 sports a sub-par resolution of 960x540. Across the 4.7-inch screen, that equates to a 234ppi pixel density. Pixels will be noticeable at this number at it’s really a shame since there are tons of Chinese smartphones such as OPPO ones or Xioami or even Meizu that provide a far better resolution at this price point.

However, one thing that Samsung did do justice to the screen that many other manufacturers don’t even with their flagships, is that the screen is a Super AMOLED one. This is a big thing for Rs. 14,000. Now your blacks will look the blackest, viewing angles will be amazing and your all-round visual experience of your phone usage will be more than enjoyable.

Subpar cameras, even for a budget phone

Samsung really cut off some big corners to bring the Galaxy J2 2017 to such a price point; but did it need to? With a 5MP main camera and a 2MP front one, Samsung isn’t fooling anyone with camera quality. Countless phones with prices lower than the Galaxy J2 2017 sport higher resolution cameras. Another disappointing feature is that video recording is capped out 720p resolution. Sure looks like Samsung took inspiration from 2014 phones for the Galaxy J2 2017.

Hardware – Nothing to see here folks

The Samsung Galaxy J2 2017 is powered by Samsung’s own custom processor: The Exynos 3475 Quad. As the name implies, it’s a low end processor with 4 cores each running at 1.3GHz. There is a paltry amount of RAM onboard: 1GB, so expect the phone to hiccup quite often. Internal storage is limited to 8GB only, so you’ll definitely be needing to take advantage of the microSD card slot. Android 7.0 Nougat is pre-loaded on the Galaxy J2 2017. The lights are kept on with a 2000mAh battery so you’ll probably have to charge it day in day out.

Galaxy J2 2107 pros:

• Super AMOLED screen

Galaxy J2 2017 cons:

• The screen resolution is sub-par
• It has a plastic build
• Underwhelming cameras