Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini Prime review: 4-inch screen and lacklustre specs may not find many takers

Samsung has released a smartphone that is so unlike the modern smartphones of today. The Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini Prime is a phone, released in November, that sticks to the very basic nature of phones and does not resort to unnecessary specs and features that a general user hardly uses.

The Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini Prime smartphone comes with a 4-inch touchscreen display and screen resolution of 480 x 800 pixels. It has a PPI of 233 pixels per inch. The handset is powered by a quad-core Spreadtrum processor and 1GB RAM. The handset has 8GB internal storage, expandable up to 32GB via microSD card, writes Gadgets 360.

The Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini Prime has a 5MP primary shooter and a 0.3MP front shooter for taking selfies. The handset consists of a 1,500 mAh removable battery and has dual-sim functionality. Features include 3G, Wi-Fi, FM, Bluetooth and GPS. Sensors include ambient light sensor, proximity, gyroscope and accelerometer.

As is evident, the Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini Prime is not a mainstream phone though it runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The handset will be suitable only for those who want a simple phone for calling and texting. The device is available is the US on eBay for US$86.99 (AU$117) and on Amazon for US$89.99 (AU$121). T-Mobile is offering the 2G variant only, writes PhoneArena.

It is unlikely that the Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini Prime will find modern users as the specs are pretty underwhelming. It may attract business professionals who simply want a basic handset. It can also act a good backup set. The smartphone looks a lot like the Galaxy J1 (2016) smartphone.

At a time, when smartphones are much more than just phones, where people look at specs and features first before purchase and are not reluctant in shelling out money for premium handsets, the Samsung Galaxy J1 Mini Prime seems a bit odd.