Many specifications and UI features of the new smartphone match those of Samsung J series and On series handsets. But some new experiments have been done regarding the design. The starting price of Samsung Galaxy J6 is Rs 13,990. Will this Samsung phone be able to challenge Redmi Note 5 Pro (read review) and ZenFone Max Pro M1 on the basis of these features and specifications? We will try to find the answer to this question through the review.
Samsung Galaxy J6 design
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The design of Samsung Galaxy J6 is refreshing. Due to its long display and sleek frame, it is comfortable to hold in hands. Its thickness is 8.2 mm. We had also said in our first impression that fingerprints do not appear easily on the rear panel.
2.5D curved glass has been used in the front of this Samsung phone. It has an Infinity display with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9. Samsung has given its 5.45 inch Super AMOLED panel in it which has HD+ (720×1480 pixels) resolution. Due to the AMOLED display, the colors are crisp and stick. The blacks are quite deep. The brightness is quite good. But the resolution is a bit disappointing.
There are some shortcomings too. Samsung has adopted its old strategy with this phone as well. Ambient light sensor has not been used in Galaxy J6. Due to this, there is no auto brightness adjustment toggle in the phone. During the review, it was troublesome for us to repeatedly manage the brightness level ourselves.
There is an 8-megapixel selfie camera, selfie light and earpiece above the display. For the first time, a Samsung Galaxy J series phone does not have any physical buttons below the display. This time the home, back and overview buttons are on the screen.
There is a power button on the right edge of the phone and space has been made for the speaker as well. There are buttons for volume control on the left side. There are two separate slots. One can hold a SIM card. The other has space for a SIM card along with a microSD card. Nano SIMs have to be used in both slots, but only one SIM will work on 4G network at any given time. The micro-USB port, microphone and 3.5mm headphone jack have been placed at the bottom. A power adapter, USB cable, SIM ejector tool and wired headset and quick start guide are present inside the retail box.
Samsung Galaxy J6 specifications and software
The Galaxy J6 is powered by the Exynos 7870 processor, which is the most disappointing aspect of the phone. For the past two years, the Exynos 7 series chipsets have been a part of Samsung’s budget phones. Now the company needs to change this. We have reviewed the 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage variant of this phone. But the company has also launched a 4 GB RAM and 64 GB RAM storage variant of the Samsung Galaxy J6. But the variant with more RAM is not being sold in India right now.
Connectivity features include 4G VoLTE. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, 3.5mm headphone socket and FM radio are also present in the phone. But there is no support for NFC. Wi-Fi calling option is also available. Like the older smartphones of Galaxy J and Galaxy On series, Samsung has not provided some important sensors in this phone as well. The phone has only proximity sensor and accelerometer. Ambient light sensor or gyroscope will not be available.
Talking about the software, Samsung Galaxy J6 handset runs on Samsung Experience 9.0 based on Android 8.0 Oreo. This OS has been a part of the company’s premium handsets. The date of Android security level patch in the phone is 1 April 2018. The home screen has a default weather and time widget on the top. Apart from this, there are shortcuts for Google and Microsoft apps along with the Google search bar. Swiping to the left will bring up the Bixby home screen.
Samsung has brought the image recognition based shopping app Samsung Mall to the Galaxy J6. It was introduced with the Galaxy On7 Prime. Samsung Mall is now much better at identifying gadgets and clothes than before. It also features Samsung Pay Mini. The phone does not come with Samsung branded video and music apps pre-installed. You can download them from Samsung’s My Galaxy app store if you wish.
Chat over video is a useful feature. With its help, now users will be able to reply to WhatsApp and SMS messages while watching fullscreen video. There is a dual messenger mode for social media apps like Facebook and WhatsApp. There is a panic mode. Users can browse notifications with the help of fingerprint sensor.
Samsung Galaxy J6 performance, camera and battery life
We have reviewed the 3GB RAM variant. Except for a few occasions, we never felt the need for more RAM. However, how will it perform when it gets older? It remains to be seen. Animations and transitions are limited in the Galaxy J6. The Bixby home screen often stutters. This is probably due to the large amount of content. There is no digital compass or gyroscope, so even Google Maps can’t tell which direction you are looking at.
While casual games like Subway Surfers and Temple Run 2 ran smoothly on the phone, there was no problem in playing games with powerful graphics like Asphalt 8. The battery consumption was also not very high while playing the game.
The company has heavily promoted the face unlock feature of the Galaxy J6. It works well in daylight. But at night, it is useless in most cases. It is good that there is a fingerprint sensor. During the review, we found that it was working fast.
Benchmark scores were below average. It’s nowhere near challenging the Redmi Note 5 Pro and ZenFone Max Pro M1, which are priced around the same as the Galaxy J6.
The Galaxy J6 has a 13-megapixel camera on the back. The same camera has been used in the Galaxy On7 Prime as well. Its aperture is f/1.9 and it comes with LED flash. Whether it is daylight or low light, the pictures taken with the camera are disappointing. The bland color reproduction is clearly visible on the Super AMOLED panel. There is also an HDR mode but it won’t help you much. In the camera app, you will find modes like Beauty, Night, Pro and Panorama which do not make a big improvement in the quality of the pictures.
The front camera sensor is 8 megapixels. It also comes with f/1.9 aperture and LED selfie light. Selfies taken in daylight are good, but the performance of the selfie camera in low light is very poor. For social media lovers, the camera app also has 3D stickers.
Videos are recorded shaky due to the lack of electronic image stabilization or optical image stabilization. You will be able to record videos at a maximum resolution of 1080 pixels.
Samsung is also promoting the Galaxy J6 on its battery life. The 3000mAh battery may not seem like a very big battery on paper, but the standby time of this phone is commendable. The Samsung Galaxy J6 lasted for about 14 hours and 10 minutes in our HD video battery loop test. The phone manages to beat the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 in this department and delivers performance on par with the Redmi Note 5 Pro. During normal use, we needed the charger only once in a day. The charger provided with the phone takes about two and a half hours to fully charge the phone, which will disappoint many people.
Our verdict
Compared to Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro and Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1, Samsung Galaxy J6 is not a value for money product. Between Exynos 7870 and Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 processor, Snapdragon is the more powerful processor. The starting price of Galaxy J6 is Rs 13,990. At this price, you will get 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage. At the same time, the price of 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage variant is Rs 16,490. Slow charging and average cameras weaken the claim of the phone. But the biggest disappointment is that important features like ambient light sensor, digital compass and fast charging are not provided.
However, with a new design, reliable battery and Super AMOLED display, this mid-range handset from Samsung will not get lost in the crowd. Overall, with a starting price of Rs 13,990, this handset has some appeal. And it will not go out of stock like its competitors.
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