Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 in a nutshell: We round up all of the news and rumours about Samsung’s compact cut-price mobile phone, the Galaxy J3, which has been updated for 2017.
Last year’s Galaxy J3 2016 was one of Samsung’s most affordable phones of recent times, offering a sharp and vibrant 5-inch screen and 5-megapixel camera for under £150 here in the UK. Unfortunately, the Galaxy J3 2016 also came lumbered with quite a few flaws, including stuttery performance and a rather uninspired design.
Hopefully Samsung can iron out these issues for the new Galaxy J3 2017, an updated version of the Galaxy J3 phone that sports a similar low price tag. We’ve already seen a few details of Samsung’s Galaxy J3 2017 leak online and here’s what we know so far, including early word on the mobile’s UK pricing and release date.
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Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 specs
| Phone | Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 |
|---|---|
| Screen size | 5-inches |
| Screen resolution | 1280×720 |
| Water resistant? | No |
| Fingerprint sensor? | No |
| Processor | Snapdragon 430 |
| RAM | 2GB |
| Storage | 16GB |
| microSD? | Yes |
| Rear camera | 8MP |
| Front camera | 5MP |
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 news and rumours
Like last year’s Galaxy J3, the 2017 model sports a 5-inch Super AMOLED screen with a 720p resolution. That’s more than fine for enjoying a bit of Netflix or YouTube on the move.
We’ve heard rumours that the Galaxy J3 2017 will pack a Snapdragon 430 processor backed by 2GB RAM, which means relatively smooth everyday running – as long as you’r enot too demanding. This budget chipset will likely struggle with any demanding games and apps, and is best suited to messaging, web browsing and the like.
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Don’t worry that the Galaxy J3 2017 is likely to ship with just 16GB of storage space. This will almost certainly be expandable via a microSD memory card slot.
Samsung is set to update last year’s 5-megapixel camera to a fresh new 8-megapixel snapper. You’ll also get a 5-megapixel selfie camera, although we’re not expecting either to boast optical image stabilisation or low light functionality. You should be able to capture Full HD video footage, however.
Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 UK price and release date
You can once again expect the Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 to rock a low asking price. Here in the UK we’ve heard £129.99 from Mobile Fun, an online phone retailer, although we’re expecting something closer to the £150 mark.
As for the Galaxy J3 2017 UK release date, we’re expecting to see the phone launched at MWC 2017 over in Barcelona. Samsung’s press conference is scheduled to kick off at 6pm UK time on Sunday February 26, so stay tuned for our full hands-on Galaxy J3 2017 review. If that’s the case, Samsung’s budget blower will likely hit the UK in March or April 2017.