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Samsung Galaxy J1 review

 Review: July 2015  
 

Rating: 2 stars

In a nutshell: The Samsung Galaxy J1 was originally released in India early in 2015 and is now available in the UK. It's a cheap, entry-level smartphone, but it cuts too many corners with its dual-core processor and tiny memory. We think it would prove to be a frustrating experience, and we'd recommend you avoid this one.



 

Samsung J1 review: Design & looks

The Galaxy J1 is a very typical Samsung phone, almost exactly the same size as the Galaxy Ace 4, but with a squarer shape. It's plastic of course, but solid enough, and of average thickness and weight. It's available in a choice of White or Blue.

The screen size is a generous 4.3 inches, and with a resolution of 480 x 800 pixels, it has a pixel density of 217ppi, which is typical for an entry-level phone.

Dual-core processor

It's quite rare to find a phone with a dual-core processor these days - most phones have 4 cores, if not more. The J1's twin cores run at a slow 1.2GHz too, so there's very little processing power here. Coupled with a tiny 512MB of RAM, this is one of the least powerful smartphones available, and is likely to struggle with more demanding apps.

The built-in memory of just 4GB is very small too, and only 2GB of this is available to the user. A microSD card slot is available for storing photos, music and so on, but the minimal onboard memory is liable to cause problems for users.

The J1 runs Android KitKat 4.4.4, with Samsung's TouchWiz user interface. We think that the hardware isn't really enough to support a user-friendly experience, and users are likely to become frustrated when using this phone, even with basic apps.

5 megapixel camera

The phone has a 5 megapixel camera on the rear, and a 2 megapixel camera on the front. Both are basic cameras.

3G connectivity

The J1 runs on 3G and 2G networks only, with no 4G option.

It comes with GPS and GLONASS positioning, and in addition has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB, connections, plus a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Battery life

The phone has a reasonably big battery, rated at 1850mAh. That's not huge by any means, but it's bigger than a lot of entry-level phones, and should enable most users to get a couple of days between charges, especially since the phone doesn't really lend itself to heavy use.

Conclusion

Samsung originally launched the J1 in Asian markets only. It's a smartphone that's stripped to the basics, and we fear that it's just too basic for the UK market.

Despite its low cost, there are actually better options available for the same kind of money, and we'd steer you in the direction of the Ace 4, Huawei Ascend Y550, or the Sony E4 instead. Alternatively, if you can afford slightly more, check out our Samsung J5 review.


Samsung Galaxy J1 features include:

User questions

Sorry - questions and comments on this page are now closed.

Does this phone do FaceTime?

Asked by Rua from Uk on 4th Oct 2016

Reply by Bobby from United States on 22nd Oct 2016
No, only iPhones do Facetime.

my phone does not work the side of google but iam entering ather side like facebook its woerk why?

Asked by bry from Tanzania on 16th Jul 2016
when iam wakeup early morning 04am its work all sites even google its open

I bought my Samsung j1 in Australia and now live in uk. Do i have to have it unlocked to put in a uk sim?

Asked by Doreen smith from Uk on 22nd Jun 2016

See all 7 questions

Samsung Galaxy J1 user reviews

Sorry - reviews and comments on this page are now closed.