Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) review: Jump start

Display

The Galaxy J7 (2016) is equipped with a 5.5" Super AMOLED display similarly to its predecessor. As we said in the beginning, the international version has 1280x720 pixel resolution, which isn't great, but is still favored by manufacturers in the lower part of the price spectrum. Even with it, the pixel density is adequate at 267ppi.

As with most of its Super AMOLED devices, Samsung has included a number of display modes. In Basic mode, colors are most accurate, whereas AMOLED cinema, they're notably oversaturated. The middle ground is AMOLED photo.

As is normal for a Super AMOLED unit, the Galaxy J7 (2016)'s screen offers great contrast. The display is decently bright at 353 nits. Tick the Outdoor mode option, and brightness is cranked up to 484 nits.

You certainly won't have problems using the Galaxy J7 (2016)'s display in sunlight. The phone's bright enough and has a 3.756 ratio, which goes up to 3.902 in outdoor mode.

Sunlight contrast ratio

• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
  4.615
• Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
  4.439
• Samsung Galaxy S7
  4.376
• HTC One A9
  4.274
• Samsung Galaxy A3
  4.241
• Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
  4.124
• Samsung Galaxy Note5
  4.09
• Huawei Nexus 6P
  4.019
• OnePlus X
  3.983
• Oppo R7s
  3.964
• Samsung Galaxy A7 (2016)
  3.918
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) outdoor mode
  3.902
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  3.895
• Samsung Galaxy J7 outdoor
  3.879
• Samsung Galaxy J2 outdoor
  3.873
• Samsung Galaxy A8
  3.859
• Apple iPhone 6
  3.838
• Samsung Galaxy A9 (2016)
  3.817
• Motorola Moto X (2014)
  3.816
• Samsung Galaxy A5 (2016)
  3.789
• Apple iPhone 6s
  3.783
• Meizu Pro 5
  3.781
• Microsoft Lumia 650
  3.772
• Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)
  3.756
• Oppo F1 Plus
  3.709
• Vivo X5Pro
  3.706
• Apple iPhone SE
  3.681
• Samsung Galaxy A7
  3.679
• Meizu PRO 6
  3.659
• BlackBerry Priv
  3.645
• Apple iPhone 6s Plus
  3.53
• Acer Jade Primo
  3.521
• Microsoft Lumia 950
  3.512
• Oppo R7 Plus
  3.499
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  3.422
• Meizu MX5
  3.416
• Oppo R7
  3.32
• Samsung Galaxy J2
  3.235
• Sony Xperia X Performance
  3.234
• Motorola Moto X Play
  3.222
• Huawei P9
  3.195
• Lenovo Vibe Shot
  3.113
• Motorola Moto X Force
  3.105
• LG Nexus 5X
  3.092
• Huawei Mate S
  3.073
• Microsoft Lumia 640 XL
  3.065
• Apple iPhone 6 Plus
  3.023
• Sony Xperia X
  2.989
• Samsung Galaxy Note
  2.97
• Huawei Mate 8
  2.949
• LG G5
  2.905
• HTC One S
  2.901
• Sony Xperia Z5
  2.876
• Microsoft Lumia 550
  2.851
• Sony Xperia Z5 compact
  2.784
• LG V10
  2.744
• Xiaomi Redmi 3
  2.735
• Sony Xperia M5
  2.69
• Vivo V3Max
  2.659
• Xiaomi Mi 4i
  2.641
• Xiaomi Mi 4c
  2.574
• LeEco Le Max 2
  2.567
• Microsoft Lumia 640
  2.563
• Oppo F1
  2.528
• Sony Xperia Z5 Premium
  2.525
• Sony Xperia M4 Aqua
  2.503
• Motorola Moto G
  2.477
• Lenovo Vibe K5 Plus
  2.473
• Huawei G8
  2.471
• Sony Xperia Z
  2.462
• Huawei Honor 7
  2.406
• ZUK Z1 by Lenovo
  2.382
• HTC 10
  2.378
• Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)
  2.378
• 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
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  2.233
• LG Nexus 5
  2.228
• Huawei P8
  2.196
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 2
  2.166
• OnePlus Two
  2.165
• HTC One X
  2.158
• LG Aka
  2.145
• Archos 50 Diamond
  2.134
• Xiaomi Redmi Note
  2.119
• Acer Liquid X2
  2.084
• Huawei P8lite
  2.078
• 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
• BlackBerry Leap
  1.892
• Meizu m2 note
  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
• Xiaomi Redmi 2
  1.311
• Sony Xperia C
  1.283
• Meizu MX
  1.221
• Sony Xperia E
  1.215

Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016) battery life

Inside the phone, there's a 3,300mAh Li-Ion battery, which users can replace with ease. The combination of 720p resolution and 14nm chipset manufacturing process promises solid battery life on paper, but we're not ones to go by the specsheet alone.

A few days of testing later, we were nothing short of amazed by the J7's battery life. It achieved more than 18 hours in our video playback test. When browsing the web over Wi-Fi, the result isn't quite as spectacular, but is still great at almost 12 and a half hours. On a 3G voice call the smartphone is good for a full day and change.

All that adds up to an overall endurance rating of 101 hours - an excellent result. It's a resonable 10-hour improvement on the previous generation and some 30 hours on top of direct competitors like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 (72h) and the Lenovo Vibe K4 Note (73h).

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.

Connectivity

In a predictable Samsung nature, the Galaxy J7 (2016) is available in single-SIM and dual-SIM variants, so you can get some flexibility in terms of carriers and plans.

Naturally, you get Wi-Fi, but it only operates on the 2.4GHz band, so needless to say there's no Wi-Fi ac support. There's GPS with A-GPS, Bluetooth v.4.0, and an FM radio receiver. NFC is also on board with a dedicated options menu in the Settings.

Wired options include a microUSB port and a 3.5mm jack. The microUSB port can be used to attach an external accessory as it supports USB On-The-Go.