Samsung Galaxy J6 first impressions: The new budget king in town?

Sure, it doesn’t have quite the same level of specifications as high-end smartphones of today, but the Galaxy J6 seems to be a reliable phone you would expect from Samsung.  Here is our first impressions of Samsung Galaxy J6, which has just launched in India.

Samsung Galaxy J6 first impressions: Design, display

Samsung has finally given the Galaxy J-series a design lift by adopting the tall 18:5:9 aspect ratio ‘Infinity’ display. The Galaxy J6 definitely looks different from the company’s other phones in the J-series, though there is no use of glass on the back. Instead, the handset has a polycarbonate build.

The Galaxy J6 definitely looks different from the company’s other phones in the J-series.

Putting the Galaxy J5 and J6 side-by-side, the differences are obvious. The latter phone has a significantly longer 18.5:9 ratio that’s noticeably taller than the 16:9 widescreen display seen on the Galaxy J5. The battery is also non-replaceable with the unit completely sealed. The microUSB port at the bottom is for charging, and there’s still a headphone jack.

The phone’s mono speaker can be seen above the power button on the top corner on the right-hand side, which I think is an odd position. Plus, you will find a fingerprint scanner on the back which works fine in my brief testing. Samsung has added up to 256GB microSD card support, in case you want to expand the internal memory.

Also read: Samsung Galaxy J6 vs Galaxy J8: Price, specs differences to keep in mind

Samsung Galaxy J6’s display is the highlight of the phone. The HD+ (720 x 1440) Super AMOLED screen is sharp and colourful. Since this is an Infinity display, naturally it is better for watching videos. Though keep in mind that in the same price bracket, the Honor 9 Lite has a slightly better screen with a resolution of 2160 x 1080, FHD+.

Samsung Galaxy J6 first impressions: Performance, battery 

Inside the Samsung Galaxy J6 is an octa-core Exynos 7870 processor from the company, which is paired with either 3GB or 4GB RAM and 32GB or 64GB internal storage. I got the 3GB RAM + 32GB storage variant for review. This is not a powerful processor by any means, but should be good enough to run all basic apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. For gamers out there, don’t expect much though. You won’t be able to play high demanding games, but I found the phone was capable of running Super Mario Run without any issues.

Inside the Samsung Galaxy J6 is an octa-core  Samsung’s own Exynos 7870 processor, paired with 3GB RAM and 32GB internal storage.

Galaxy J6 comes with a 3000mAh battery and it should be good enough to last a day. I have not yet tested the phone fully, so I cannot really comment on the performance of the battery.

Also read: Honor 9 Lite review: At Rs 10,999, this is the best budget phone right now

Samsung Galaxy J6 first impressions: Camera

Speaking of the photography department, the Galaxy J6 uses a single 13MP rear camera. Logically, the phone should have come with a dual-camera setup, which is a hot favourite among the smartphone manufacturers. For the money, though, the quality of the photographs aren’t that bad. In bright light, I was able to capture decent shots with an impressive amount of detail and colours.

Samsung Galaxy J6 camera sample. (Image resized for web)

Samsung Galaxy J6 camera sample. (Image resized for web)

Samsung Galaxy J6 camera sample. (Image resized for web)

In low light, however, the phone struggles a lot to get a high-quality shot which is not surprising. The 8MP front-facing camera is okay, nothing to brag about. This time though, Samsung has added a facial recognition feature which uses the handset’s front camera. I have not yet tested the feature myself, but I will surely inform readers about how it performed in the detailed review.

Samsung Galaxy J6 first impressions: Software

The Galaxy J6 runs Android 8.0 Oreo and as expected, it has been tweaked a lot to add to offer more value to consumers. So yes, you will notice redesigned icons, an all-new home screen layout, and a slew of Samsung apps including My Galaxy, Samsung Notes, Samsung Mall and Galaxy Apps. What I do not like about the interface is the duplication of apps. There are two browsers, app stores, email clients and galleries. This is a big problem, and Samsung has to find a solution.

The Galaxy J6 runs Android 8.0 Oreo and as expected, it has been tweaked a lot to add to offer more value to consumers.

Samsung Galaxy J6 first impressions: Early verdict

Samsung Galaxy J6 is available to buy right now for Rs 13,990 for the base variant and goes up to Rs 16,490 for the top-end variant, the one with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage.  Of course, the Galaxy J6 is not perfect, it is not bad either. It is a great option for those who can’t dream of buying the Galaxy A8+ and Galaxy S9+. Of course, this phone will be compared to the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 and Honor 9 Lite. We’ll have a full review of the Samsung Galaxy J6 in the coming days, so stay tuned!