Samsung Galaxy J 2017 series has weird Android configuration; Galaxy A5 and A7 smartphones reviewed

If latest reports are to be believed, Wi-Fi Alliance has cleared Samsung Galaxy J7 2017, J5 2017 and J3 2017. While some variants have been certified with Android 7.0 Nougat OS, some still have the older Android 6.0 Marshmallow.

According to Nashville Chatter, the Samsung J5 2017 variants that have been certified are meant for local South Korea markets. However, fans are confused as to why Samsung will choose to unveil the smartphones with Android Marshmallow and use Android Nougat on the other Galaxy J 2017 series.

“The new J5 2017 variants join another model that had appeared on the same platform last month with model number SM-J530FM, which suggested that it’s an international variant. Like its counterparts, this global variant had Android Marshmallow running the show,” states the report.

Thus, all certified Galaxy J5 2017 models have Marshmallow and Galaxy J3 and J7 2017 ones have Nougat. Details about the J series 2017 smartphones have been very scarce up to now, though a Wi-Fi Alliance certification could mean the smartphones will be unveiled sometime soon. Meanwhile, Gizmodo Australia has reviewed the Galaxy A5 and A7 handsets. The review states that the two smartphones are a more restrained and cheaper version of Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge.

As mid-range phones, the two are most impressive in terms of specs, features and performance. If a buyer is not willing to shell out $1,000+ for the Samsung flagships but still get a feel of the flagships at a low cost, these two are worth a buy. The A5 and A7 handsets are, however, not for power users who install numerous apps and games and ask a lot more from their phones than necessary. The smartphones are perfect for the average user. The 5.2-inch Galaxy A5 smartphone costs $649 and the 5.7-inch Galaxy A7 costs $799.

Both phones have 1080p Super AMOLED displays with the A5 having a 3,000mAh non-removable battery and A7, a 3,600mAh battery. The sets have octa-core Samsung Exynos 7880 chipsets, 3GB RAM, 32GB internal flash storage and microSD card slots to expand storage up to 256GB. They run on Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow out-of-the-box. Their build quality is simply excellent and are IP68 certified, making them dustproof and water-resistant. The smartphones use USB Type-C ports for charging and data transfer.

The Samsung Galaxy A5 and A7 handsets come with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection, NFC and fingerprint reader. The battery performance of Galaxy A7 is comparable to that of Google Pixel xl and Huawei Mate 9.