Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) review: Just the job

The 5.2-inch Super AMOLED display doesn't disappoint

Samsung has fitted the Galaxy J5 (2017) with a 5.2-inch 720p Super AMOLED display - same as the one in last year's model, if going solely by the numbers. The pixel density is 282ppi, but the fact that it's a diamond pixel arrangement with half the number of blue and red subpixels means you'd be able to see the weave of pixels if you look closely.

Looking at the test results, it may well be the same panel indeed. Maximum brightness isn't great at 326nits (a dozen less than the 2016 model), but in Auto the J5 (2017) can do way better. The brightness under direct light is virtually identical to what the J5 (2016) produced in Outdoor mode - the difference here is that the latest model has an ambient light sensor and can boost the brightness on its own, while you had to manually engage Outdoor mode on the J5 (2016).

Our sunlight legibility test puts the 2017 model slightly ahead of its predecessor. It obviously falls short of the premium AMOLEDs but you still can't find an LCD in this class that can match the Galaxy J5 (2017) in sunlight legibility. Pretty great then.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Samsung Galaxy S8
  4.768
• Samsung Galaxy S8+
  4.658
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  4.615
• Oppo R11
  4.454
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  4.439
• OnePlus 3
  4.424
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  4.376
• HTC One A9
  4.274
• Samsung Galaxy Note7
  4.247
• Samsung Galaxy A3
  4.241
• OnePlus 3T
  4.232
• Google Pixel XL
  4.164
• ZTE Axon 7
  4.154
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  4.09
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  4.019
• OnePlus X
  3.983
• Vivo Xplay5 Elite
  3.983
• Apple iPhone 7
  3.964
• Oppo R7s
  3.964
• Huawei P9 Plus
  3.956
• Meizu Pro 6 Plus
  3.935
• Lenovo Moto Z
  3.931
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  3.918
• OnePlus 5
  3.914
• Samsung Galaxy C5
  3.911
• Samsung Galaxy C7
  3.896
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  3.895
• Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
  3.879
• Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
  3.873
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  3.859
• Sony Xperia XZs
  3.818
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  3.817
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  3.816
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017)
  3.812
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
  3.804
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.802
• Xiaomi Redmi Pro
  3.798
• LG V20 Max auto
  3.798
• Sony Xperia XZ
  3.795
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  3.789
• Apple iPhone 6s
  3.783
• Meizu Pro 5
  3.781
• Microsoft Lumia 650
  3.772
• Xiaomi Mi 6
  3.767
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.756
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.709
• Vivo X5Pro
  3.706
• Samsung Galaxy A3 (2017)
  3.688
• Apple iPhone SE
  3.681
• Huawei Mate 9
  3.68
• Samsung Galaxy A7
  3.679
• Meizu PRO 6
  3.659
• BlackBerry Priv
  3.645
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017)
  3.599
• Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
  3.597
• Apple iPhone 7 Plus
  3.588
• LG G6
  3.556
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  3.53
• Motorola Moto Z Play
  3.526
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016)
  3.523
• Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.523
• Acer Jade Primo
  3.521
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  3.512
• Oppo R7 Plus
  3.499
• nubia Z11
  3.466
• Huawei P10 Plus
  3.456
• HTC U Ultra
  3.453
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  3.422
• Meizu MX5
  3.416
• LG V20
  3.402
• Huawei P10
  3.379
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
  3.378
• Oppo R9s
  3.352
• Honor 8 Pro
  3.341
• Oppo R7
  3.32
• Lenovo P2
  3.316
• Honor 9
  3.289
• Xiaomi Mi 5s
  3.276
• Nokia 5
  3.261
• Nokia 6 (Chinese version)
  3.244
• Xiaomi Mi 5
  3.24
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  3.235
• Sony Xperia X Performance
  3.234
• Xiaomi Mi Note 2
  3.228
• Motorola Moto X Play
  3.222
• Oppo F3 Plus
  3.218
• Huawei Mate 9 Pro
  3.206
• Huawei P9
  3.195
• ZTE Nubia Z17
  3.159
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  3.113
• Motorola Moto X Force
  3.105
• LG Nexus 5X
  3.092
• HTC U11
  3.089
• Huawei Mate S
  3.073
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  3.065
• Sony Xperia XA1
  3.012
• Sony Xperia L1
  2.994
• Huawei P10 Lite
  2.974
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.97
• Huawei Mate 8
  2.949
• Xiaomi Redmi 4
  2.92
• Xiaomi Redmi 3S
  2.913
• Sony Xperia XA Ultra
  2.906
• LG G5
  2.905
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Xiaomi Redmi 3s Prime
  2.893
• Xiaomi Mi 5s Plus
  2.884
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium
  2.877
• Sony Xperia XZ Premium (sRGB)
  2.877
• Sony Xperia Z5
  2.876
• Nokia 3
  2.871
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  2.851
• Lenovo Moto M
  2.813
• Xiaomi Redmi 3 Pro
  2.803
• Sony Xperia Z5 compact
  2.784
• Meizu MX6
  2.751
• LG V10
  2.744
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  2.735
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (S625)
  2.714
• Meizu M5
  2.71
• Sony Xperia M5
  2.69
• Huawei P9 Lite
  2.679
• Xiaomi Redmi 4 Prime
  2.679
• Vivo V3Max
  2.659
• Xiaomi Mi Mix
  2.658
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2.641
• Xiaomi Redmi 4a
  2.635
• Sony Xperia XA
  2.609
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus (max auto)
  2.582
• Motorola Moto G4 Plus
  2.582
• Meizu M5s
  2.58
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  2.574
• LeEco Le Max 2
  2.567
• Microsoft Lumia 640
  2.563
• Asus Zenfone 3 ZE552KL
  2.563
• Lenovo K6 Note
  2.544
• Lenovo Moto G4
  2.544
• Oppo F1
  2.528
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  2.525
• Huawei Honor 7 Lite / Honor 5c
  2.506
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  2.503
• Oppo F1s
  2.481
• Motorola Moto G
  2.477
• Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
  2.473
• Huawei G8
  2.471
• Huawei nova
  2.467
• Lenovo Vibe K5
  2.459
• Meizu m3 max
  2.447
• HTC 10 evo
  2.407
• Huawei Honor 7
  2.406
• Sony Xperia E5
  2.386
• ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
  2.382
• HTC 10
  2.378
• Oppo F3
  2.376
• vivo V5 Plus
  2.371
• Meizu m1 note
  2.362
• Huawei nova plus
  2.329
• HTC One E9+
  2.305
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  2.272
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
  2.254
• Sony Xperia C5 Ultra
  2.253
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (MediaTek)
  2.249
• Sony Xperia C4 Dual
  2.235
• Xiaomi Mi Note
  2.234
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  2.233
• Huawei P8
  2.196
• Meizu M5 Note
  2.189
• Huawei Honor 6
  2.169
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  2.166
• OnePlus Two
  2.165
• HTC One X
  2.158
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (X20)
  2.145
• LG Aka
  2.145
• Archos 50 Diamond
  2.134
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  2.119
• Xiaomi Mi 4S
  2.095
• Acer Liquid X2
  2.084
• Huawei P8lite
  2.078
• vivo V5
  2.059
• Moto G 3rd gen max manual
  2.026
• Xiaomi Mi Max
  1.996
• Sony Xperia E4g
  1.972
• OnePlus One
  1.961
• Meizu m3 note
  1.923
• Meizu m2 note
  1.892
• BlackBerry Leap
  1.892
• HTC Butterfly
  1.873
• ZTE Nubia Z9 mini
  1.759
• Sony Xperia U
  1.758
• Asus Zenfone Selfie
  1.68
• Motorola Moto E (2nd Gen)
  1.675
• ZTE Nubia Z9
  1.659
• Jolla Jolla
  1.605
• Motorola Moto E
  1.545
• Sony Xperia M
  1.473
• Sony Xperia L
  1.351
• Xiaomi Redmi 2
  1.311
• HTC Desire C
  1.3
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Sony Xperia E
  1.215

As for color accuracy, do not expect much of it in Adaptive display mode. This default setting produces noticeably blue whites and average DeltaE is 5.6 with a maximum of 12.9. The good news is that in any of the other modes the blue tint is gone. If for some reason you insist on true-to-sRGB reproduction, the basic mode can get you close to that with an average DeltaE of 3.

Connectivity

The Galaxy J5 (2017) is sold as either a single SIM or dual SIM package though not all regions necessarily get both. Nano SIMs must be used in any case. The microSD slot is always available even if you have two SIMs inside, so you don't have to sacrifice carrier/plan flexibility for extra storage or the other way around. The LTE is Cat.6 for up to 300Mbps of downlink.

The J5 (2017) comes with Wi-Fi b/g/n support in the 2.4GHz spectrum and a/n/ac over 5GHz. There's GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, and Beidou; Bluetooth v.4.1, and an FM radio receiver. NFC is also on board with a dedicated menu in the Settings.

Charging and wired connectivity use a microUSB 2.0 interface - how about a switch to USB-C across the range already! On a positive note, there's a 3.5mm jack for attaching headphones or an external amp.

Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) battery life

The Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) is powered by a 3,000mAh battery and that's 600mAh less than the J7 (2017) but then the display here is smaller and the resolution is lower, so we expected comparable results.

With screen size and resolution out of the equation in voice calls, the J5 (2017) scored 21:37h on a 3G call compared to the J7 (2017)'s 26:29h.

In tests with the display on the two variables - size and resolution - made things more complicated and the numbers didn't match our expectations.

In video playback the Galaxy J5 (2017) outlasts the J7 (2017) by two full hours, only to be defeated in web browsing by 4 hours. We've come to expect AMOLEDs to be much more efficient in our video test than web browsing, and that's the case with the J5 - perhaps even more so in this instance.

In the end, the overall result of the Galaxy J5 (2017) is 97h in our battery test - an excellent endurance rating despite the slightly lower than projected web browsing longevity.

Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.