IPhone 7

iPhone 7

Apple announced the iPhone 7 on 7 September 2016, alongside the larger iPhone 7 Plus. The new iPhone handsets feature better cameras, new, super-speedy processors, two new colour options and improved water resistance. The iPhone 7 is available to buy in the UK and across the globe now, via the Apple Store and carriers.

If you're debating whether or not to buy an iPhone 7, our review is sure to help. We test and rate the iPhone 7's design and build quality, features, tech specs, speed, camera capabilities and value for money. And we'd like to give a special mention to Mobile Funfor lending us the iPhone 7 we used to write this review!

If you're interested in the full current iPhone range, meanwhile, take a look at ouriPhone buying guide and best iPhone deals. Or if you're more interested in future iPhones, read about iPhone 8 rumours and iPhone 9 rumours.

iPhone 7: Design & build quality

Let's address the elephant in the room before we go any further. While previous Apple releases, and the usual 'tick-tock' pattern of iPhone updates, led us to expect the iPhone 7 would be a completely redesigned iPhone, in fact it features essentially the same design of the iPhone 6 and 6s. That's the third year now with the same design. Many will say that's a bad thing - but it isn't quite so simple.

The iPhone 7 looks gorgeous, there's no doubt about that, boasting an aluminium unibody with curved edges and 2.5D glass that helps make the phone sit in your hand much more comfortably, while also providing a nicer experience when swiping from the side of the display.

It isn't just standard aluminium like the material used by its competitors, either - the iPhone 7 features 7000 Series aluminium, making the iPhone more durable without adding much weight and giving the device more of a premium feel.

The iPhone 7 is, physically, the same size and shape as its predecessors, the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6, measuring in at 128.3mm x 67.1mm x 7.1mm, but with a few notable differences.

The rear-facing camera and TrueTone flash are bigger, and the eagle-eyed among you will spot that the antenna lines are gone from the back of the iPhone. Well, not gone, but repositioned to the top and bottom of the smartphone to make them less noticeable and provide a cleaner look.

Huawei P10

Editor's note: Huawei originaly sold the P10 directly for £600. UK networks have since started selling the handset for £550. The review has been updated to reflect this.

What is the Huawei P10?

The P10 is the successor to Huawei’s P9 flagship, which in my mind was the firm’s finest handset to date.

It continues the company’s push to dominate the camera market and features a refined version of the “designed by Leica” dual-camera setup seen on its predecessor. This, plus a few subtle but important design and hardware improvements, makes the P10 look like it could be a valid rival to Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S8 and the excellent LG G6. 

With its retail price set at £550 in the UK, however, the P10 is one of the most expensive phones ever made by Huawei. Couple this with the fact that for only €50 more it's possible to pick up the better-specced "Plus" variant of the P10 (UK pricing yet to be confirmed), and the P10's overall appeal is hampered, making it a good as opposed to perfect choice for premium buyers.
Huawei P10 – Design

Design-wise, the P10 looks more like an iPhone 7 than a Huawei phone. Some of the coloured variants, such as the blue version, differentiate themselves by sporting a textured finish. Overall, though, were it not for the appearance of a USB Type-C – not Lightning – port at the bottom of the handset and the Leica and Huawei branding on its rear, you could easily mistake the P10 for an Apple phone.

Some will bemoan the lack of originality; for me, this isn't too much of an issue since the P10 ticks all the right boxes when it comes to functionality. 

The metal exterior feels suitably solid, and the use of Gorilla Glass 5 on the front screen should offer reasonable scratch-resistance – although I'd still refrain from dropping it in a pocket with your keys.

The P10’s 7mm thickness and 142g weight make it super-comfortable to hold, even for folk with small hands. I’m also pleased to see the phone has a microSD card slot, which will enable users to add a further 256GB of space to the basic 64GB built-in storage.

My only slight quibble is that Huawei has opted to position the fingerprint scanner on the P10’s front, as I’ve always found a rear placement more intuitive in use. The scanner on the P9 was a particularly fine example, with placement exactly where my index finger naturally fell when holding it.

Huawei has partially made up for this by adding some advanced control options to the P10’s scanner. A short press acts as the standard Back button, while a long press brings you back to the homescreen. Swiping left or right will bring up the apps Overview screen. 

The company claims the button will be easier to use than Android’s on-screen inputs, thanks to the addition of a custom Ultra Response feature. The feature reportedly tracks your usage habits so it can intelligently predict where your finger will go next, reacting preemptively and thus reducing latency

Such functionality sounds useful, and on first receiving the P10 I did use the features out of novelty. But following a week with the handset, I didn’t notice a huge difference in response times and reverted to using Android’s on-screen commands – which is what I imagine most people will do.

Huawei P10 – Display

Huawei has loaded the P10 with a 5.1-inch, 1080p resolution display. On paper, this is a marked step down from the P10 Plus, which comes with a 5.5-inch with a 2K resolution display. However, in real-world use I didn’t encounter any issues with the P10’s display.

Many flagships, such as the Galaxy S7, may have made the jump to Quad-HD, but the truth is, most people won’t notice the difference in pixel count. The P10’s 432ppi (pixels per inch) mean that it’s all but impossible to discern individual pixels and icons, and text looks universally sharp.

The use of an IPS-NEO panel results in blacks that are better than those on regular IPS screens – and improved viewing angles – although they're not as deep and inky as they are on phones with AMOLED screens. In addition, whites are clean and colours are neither overcooked nor too cool.  Maximum brightness levels are excessively high, to the point I generally found myself having to set the phone to between 30-40% brightness to use it comfortably.

All in all, the P10’s screen is pretty good – although at this price, I wouldn’t expect anything less.

Samsung galaxy Tab S2

The good The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 has bright and vividly colorful screen. Its rail-thin design is comfortable and ultracompact. It comes with 32GB of storage, a microSD card expansion slot and fingerprint scanner. Battery life is long.

The bad Unlike previous models, there's no IR blaster.

The bottom line The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2's brilliant screen, plentiful storage capacity and slender build make it a great tablet for everyday use at home or on the go.

A small and skinny tablet with a supreme screen

 

Late 2016 update

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is among the best deals going in the tablet space. It has many of the same virtues as Apple's iPad Air 2, which starts at $399 (£379 in the UK, and AU$569 in Australia): both are slim, light, fast and fantastic for consuming media. But the entry-level 32GB Tab S2 starts at $250 (£319, AU$549) and throws in a fingerprint scanner, a dazzling AMOLED screen with 2,046 x 1,536 pixels, a stellar 13 hours of battery life, and a microSD slot for adding storage. It comes in two sizes -- a compact 8-inch model and a larger 9.7-inch version ($350 in the US, £349, AU$699) -- each with a 4:3 aspect ratio that's particularly well suited to Web browsing and reading.

That noted, the premium tablet landscape is abundant with great choices. In September 2016, Apple gave a boost to its lineup of iPads, increasing the base storage capacity of the excellent iPad Air 2 from 16GB to 32GB, and dropping the 64GB model entirely. That makes the adjusted retail prices as follows: $399 for the 32GB model (£379, AU$569), $499 (£469, AU$719) for the 128GB model without cellular connectivity, and $629 (£589, AU$879) with it. We don't think the marginal price difference makes the tinier, slightly less powerful iPad Mini 4 the better deal.

Google's Pixel C was the first tablet made and designed by Google, and it's built to showcase everything that Android has to offer. But it's pricey, starting at $500 (£480, AU$670) for the 32GB model and $600 (£559, AU$800) for the 64GB version, and that's before you spring for the $149 (£209, AU$200) keyboard accessory. And then there's Microsoft's Surface Pro 4. Equipped with robust processing power, a perfectly sized display and just-right aspect ratio, and a few critical add-on accessories, the Pro 4 has solidified the Surface's position as the gold standard for Windows tablets.

Check out CNET's head-to-head comparison of Google's Pixel C, Microsoft's Surface 3, Apple's iPad Air 2, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 for a detailed view of how the specs stack up.

Editors' note: The original review of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0, first published in September 2015, follows.

With an exceptional design in tow, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 gives the Apple iPad Mini a run for its money. The 8-inch Tab S2 is thinner and lighter than both the iPad Mini 4 and the Dell Venue 8 7000, and it offers twice the amount of internal storage for the same price as each of them. (A 9.7-inch version of the Tab S2 is also available, and is otherwise almost identical.)

Running Samsung's Android-based TouchWiz user-interface, the tablet is similar to the company's flagship Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones, which also utilize the UI. Though it lacks an exciting or cutting-edge feature, the absence of a gimmicky factor doesn't change the fact that the Galaxy Tab S2 is one of the best Android tablets available.

It has a spectacular HD screen with vivid color and this new model sports a 4:3 aspect ratio (last year's Tab S had a wider 16:9 screen that was geared toward video watching) that's prime for reading, apps and surfing the Web. It also features consistently smooth performance, a fingerprint scanner and decent cameras -- a rarity for a tablet. All of that is packed into a superskinny and featherweight design that looks cool, feels comfortable to hold, and is so compact, it'll barely make a dent in your bag.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 doesn't come cheap, starting at $400 for the 32GB model, yet it's a worthwhile investment if you're interested in an Android tablet for everyday use. Its petite dimensions make it a perfect portable companion for an everyday commute or travel. A great iPad alternative with sleek design, vibrant and sharp screen, plentiful storage.

Editors' note: The 8-inch (reviewed here) and 9.7-inch versions of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 are almost identical. Portions of their reviews are similar.

11

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0 is a great tablet for taking to-go (pictures)

Design

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is -- to date -- one of the thinnest and lightest tablets available. It's a mere 5.6mm thin and 0.58-pound (265g) light, slightly edging out its main competition, the Dell Venue 8 7000 and Apple iPad Mini 4.

Tested specSamsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0Apple iPad Mini 4Dell Venue 8 7000Weight0.58 pound (265g)0.65 pound (298.8g)0.67 pound (306g)Width (landscape)7.8 inches (198.6mm)8 inches (203.2 mm)8.5 inches (216mm)Height5.3 inches (134.8mm)5.3 -inches (134.8 mm)4.9 inches (124mm)Depth0.22 inch (5.6mm)0.24 inch (6.1mm)0.24 inch (6mm)Side bezel width (landscape)0.56 inch (14.2mm)N/Atop bezel: 0.18 inch (4.6mm); other: 0.69 inch (17mm)

Its design itself is sleek with a premium look and feel. The build might feel cheap to some who prefer the aluminum backs of the iPad Mini 4 or Dell Venue 8 7000, but it's heaps better than last year's plastic faux-leather texture with fake stitching accents.

The right side of the tablet houses the power button, volume rocker and microSD card slot. To insert a microSD card, you must use a small pointy object to eject the tray. A thick needle or paper clip should do the trick. On the bottom edge you'll find two speakers with a headphone jack and Micro-USB port between them.

The buttons slightly protrude from the edge.Josh Miller/CNET

Speaking of the edges, though the corners are nicely rounded, the edges themselves are flat. This gives you a surface big enough to rest your fingers on the sides when using it. The dimensions of the 8-inch tablet are just right for one-handed use. Even with my small hands, I could comfortably hold it with a secure grip. The smooth suede-like finish on the back is also comfortable against your fingertips -- it almost doesn't feel like plastic.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is so easy to carry around, the barely-there description of its presence is akin to an advertisement for pantyhose or Invisalign braces. When I had it in my bag -- even with the 9.7-inch model in there too -- I didn't notice the difference in weight,and it's so thin, it fit into any crevice I squeezed it into.

The thinnest tablet to date.Josh Miller/CNET

Aside from it's convenient portability, it's very comfortable to use. Everything from gaming to reading felt pleasant and my hands or wrists never tired when holding it for a long time. The plastic build lacks the high-end aesthetic that aluminum-backed models -- like the Dell Venue 8 7000 and Apple iPad Mini 4 -- have, however it's the reason why it's a featherweight.

If I were to use the Galaxy Tab S2 every day during a commute or every night while reading before bed, I'd definitely pick the lightweight nature of the plastic construction over the finesse of an aluminum design. It's easier on your hands and wrist, and no sweat to carry around everywhere. Despite its other great attributes, I'd have to say that its minimal design, aesthetically and physically, is my favorite thing about the Samsung tablet.

The back has a suede-like feel.Josh Miller/CNET

Features

The Galaxy Tab S2 runs on Android Lollipop 5.1 with Samsung's TouchWiz overlay. If you've used a Samsung tablet or phone before, it'll look familiar. There aren't any dramatic changes to the UI, however the Flipboard-esque Magazine feature that was premiered on last year's Tab S is notably absent. Considering there's already an app that closely resembles the reading-aggregator function, this isn't a big loss.

Like the Tab S, the new model packs a bunch of free goodies straight from Samsung, and most of them lend themselves to the new reading-friendly screen size. Included with your purchase of the Galaxy Tab S2 are free 6-month subscriptions to The Economist and The Guardian publications, as well as one for Pocket, an app that saves content for reading later. There's also a three-month subscription to Scribd, which is like Netflix for books, and free premium content on Stitchr, a podcast app. If you're into writing as much as you like reading, Samsung also throws in free downloads of the Hancom Office apps.

From left to right: multiwindow function and home page of the Connect app.Screenshot by Xiomara Blanco/CNET

Also like last year's model, the Galaxy Tab S2 has multiwindow functions and a fingerprint scanner. The fingerprint scanner on this model works a bit differently; instead of swiping your finger down the home button, you simply place it on top of it. You can save up to four fingerprints. I found the functionality a lot better than that of last year's model and, after saving all four of my thumb and index fingerprints, it became easier to use than the usual swipe to unlock function.

The Galaxy Tab S2 has a new Connect app which is a hodgepodge of content. It consists of three main sections: Support, Discover and Promotions. The Support section has a variety of FAQs about using the tablet as well as access to video chat help with a Samsung representative. The Discover section features tips and how-to information, like how to transfer data from your old phone to the Tab S2. Lastly, the Promotions section has music videos, movie trailers and discount deals on other Samsung products, like TVs and Blu-ray players. If I was new to Samsung or Android, I'd probably appreciate the Connect app more, but as an old-timer, it didn't offer me anything to make me keep coming back for more.

An example of some of the "promotional" items offered through the Connect app.Screenshot by Xiomara Blanco/CNET

Hardware

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 houses an octa-core Exynos 5433 chipset, comprised of a 1.9GHz and 1.3GHz quad-core CPU. It also has 32GB of internal storage and a microSD card expansion slot that's expandable up to 128GB. The Samsung website lists a 64GB version, but only the 32GB model is available for purchase; Samsung hasn't released details on when and if the 64GB one be available.

Other features include Bluetooth 4.1 with low-energy function (BLE) and Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac MIMO -- which is faster than regular Wi-Fi.

The TouchWiz UI hasn't changed much.Josh Miller/CNET

Performance

Last year's Galaxy Tab S had one best screens I've seen on a tablet. The Super-AMOLED display stunned with incredibly dark black levels, radiant brightness and vibrantly saturated colors. The Galaxy Tab S2 follows in those footsteps, but with a smaller and brighter screen.

Tested specSamsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0Dell Venue 8 7000Apple iPad Air 2Maximum brightness331 cd/m2368 cd/m2413 cd/m2Screen resolution2,048x1,5362,560x1,6002,048x1,536Pixels per inch320ppi361ppi264ppiAspect ratio4:316:94:3

Its 8-inch screen and 2,048x1,536-pixel resolution is a step down from the 8.4-inch screen and 2,560x1,600-pixel resolution on the Tab S. The difference in resolution is barely discernable and the difference isn't a significant downside to the new model. The lower resolution is an understandable change, due to smaller 4:3 aspect ratio screen. The size is more square than rectangular, and better for activities like reading and surfing the Web, while 16:9 is better for a cinematic video-watching experience.

Colors on the screen are vibrantly saturated.Josh Miller/CNET

Regardless of the difference in size, the screen is still one of the best found on a tablet. It's captivatingly crisp and a colorful. The Galaxy Tab S2's screen cranks up the color with a punch of saturation that makes video appear more vibrant and cinematic. Green and yellow shades are most notably rich. HD video looks razor-sharp and the saturated colors and stark contrast on the bright screen make for a satisfyingly vivid viewing experience. Unfortunately, the luminous quality of the display comes with a downside.

The bright screen is great for visibility -- I can comfortably see it outdoors on a sunny day or in a bright room with lots of windows -- however details can get lost. When displaying an image or video with different shades of white, the brightest spots appear blown out and some detail becomes indiscernible.

The small screen is better for reading and surfing the Web, than watching video and gaming.Josh Miller/CNET

For example, when viewing a video of an overcast sky, the curvature, size, wrinkles and texture of some clouds are indistinguishable at bright spots in the screen. It's as if a blur tool was used on the brightest whites, blending them together to mix one shade to rule them all. The Dell Venue 8 7000 fared better in displaying these details, producing accurate colors that appear life-like. Though I appreciate lifelike color, when it comes to watching movies, I enjoyed the impact of the saturated colors on the Galaxy Tab S2.

Gaming

Large games like N.O.V.A. 3 and Dead Trigger 2 launched rather quickly, and so did each level in the games. In comparison to the Dell Venue 8 7000, it loaded the first level of N.O.V.A. 3 twice as fast. Thanks to the sharp super-AMOLED screen, graphics looked great. The slightly saturated range of colors made backgrounds vibrantly pop and dark scenes looked dramatic with high contrast and dark black levels.

Gaming graphics look dramatic and colorful.Josh Miller/CNET

When I initially ran 3DMark benchmark tests on the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 it was running Android 5.0.2 and the tablet scored fairly well. After updating to Android 5.1, the results took a plunge. I didn't notice a huge difference in game play performance, but I did run into infrequent low frame rates during the cut-scene portions of games. We've reached out to Samsung for more information of the effect the software update has on gaming benchmarks, and we'll update when we have more information.

DeviceCPUGPURAMOS testedSamsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0Exynos Octa 5433 (1.3GHz quad-core Cortex A53; 1.9GHz quad-core Cortex A57)Mali-T7603GBAndroid 5.1.1Dell Venue 8 70002.3GHz quad-core Intel Atom Z3580PowerVR G64302GBAndroid 5.1

N.O.V.A. 3 Level 1 Load Time (In Seconds)

Dell Venue 8 7000

36

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0

12.6

NOTE:

 Shorter bars indicate faster performance

3DMark Ice Storm (Unlimited)

Dell Venue 8 7000

21,167

Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0

11,877

NOTE:

 Longer bars indicate better performance

Editors' note: The Nvidia Shield tablet -- one of the best Android tablets for gaming -- was excluded from the comparison because it's been recalled due to fire hazards.

Battery life

After testing the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 in the CNET labs, it notched an average battery life of 13.2 hours. That's pretty darn good for a tablet. While using it casually, I only had to charge it every two or three days, and it fared well on stand-by; after fully charging it and not using it for two days, it still had a healthy 91 percent of battery life left.

One of the better tablet cameras around.Josh Miller/CNET

Cameras

Tablet cameras are more for convenience (document scanning, video calling) than the everyday photography on your smartphone. Most take underwhelming photos with washed-out colors, evident graininess and a lack of vibrancy. The Galaxy Tab S2 is a welcomed exception. It won't replace your dLSR or anything, but with the bar set so low, it has some of the best cameras found on an Android tablet.

The center photo shows some of the on-screen controls.Xiomara Blanco/CNET

On the front is a 2.1-megapixel camera that is not only good for video conferencing, but you can also get yourself some decent selfies out of it. Pictures are crisp with enough detail to look sharp, but not enough to necessitate that you pull out a blurring tool for your blemishes. Color also looks accurate and it does pretty well in low-lighting. There is a bit of a graininess quality to the photos, but that's to be expected from a 2.1-megapixel camera.

You'll find an 8-megapixel camera on the back of Galaxy Tab S2. There is a variety of scene modes, including panoramic, HDR and virtual shot, which can take a 360-degree photo. Photos at the full resolution look impressively sharp and color is accurate. The rear camera also did pretty well at taking photos in dark environments, though graininess increases when doing so.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is also available in a larger model that's better for watching movies and gaming.Josh Miller/CNET

Conclusion

Everything about the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 is incrementally better than the Galaxy Tab S. It's not exceptional, and it doesn't break the mold, but it's a fine successor to last year's version. That said, it's still one of the best Android tablets available. Compared to similarly sleek and slim Dell and Apple tablets, it's also a better deal.

The 16GB models of the Apple iPad Mini 4 and Dell Venue 8 7000 go for $400 at retail price. For the same price, you can get the Galaxy Tab S2 with 32GB -- double the amount of storage. The Dell and Samsung tablets also have microSD card slots, whereas the Apple model does not. The leg-up the iPad has on the two Android-based models is the Apps Store's vast selection of apps and iOS 9's eye-pleasing and user-friendly UI. The Dell Venue 8 7000 and Galaxy Tab S2 have similar performance (we've yet to review the iPad Mini 4), so the choice between the two comes down to picking 16Gb or 32GB of internal storage and personal aesthetic preference.

It's increasingly hard for a tablet to stand out in such a saturated market. Without a highly marketable gimmick or a fruit logo on its back, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 can blend into the crowd as just another Android, but its supremely skinny design, stellar screen and ample storage capacity should catch the eye of anyone interested in a tablet for a daily commute, traveling or reading before bed. It's not exactly the Android version of the iPad, but it's close enough and cheaper for it.

Samsung Galaxi J1

CARACTÉRISTIQUES

Dimensions129 x 68.2 x 8.9 mmPoids122 gDiagonale d'écran4.3 poucesDéfinition d'écran800 x 480DPI207Type d’écranTNPart de l’écran en surface60.16 %Puce mobileNAProcesseurNC - 1.2 GHzNombre de cœurs2GPU intégré (iGPU)Mali-400Mémoire vive (RAM)512 MoMémoire interne4 GoCarte mémoireouiCapacité de la batterie1850 mAhCapteur photo5 MpxCapteur photo avant2 MpxCaptation vidéoSystème d'exploitation (OS)AndroidVersion d'OS testéeAndroid 4.4.4ConnectiqueMicro USBCapteur d’empreintes digitalesType Wi-Fi802.11a/b/g/nType BluetoothNFCnon4G (LTE)nonDual-simouiFormat carte SIMNiveau d'exposition (DAS)NCType d'étanchéiténonGyroscopeBatterie amovibleouiFace-à-face ►

PRÉSENTATION

Aux antipodes des fleurons de la série Samsung Galaxy S, on trouve les Galaxy J. Ce J1 est équipé d'un écran de 4,3 pouces en dalle TN et affiche 800 x 480 px. Il est animé par 2 deux cœurs ARM Cortex-A7, cadencés à 1,2 GHz, une puce graphique Mali-400 et 512 Mo de RAM. Sa mémoire interne se limite à 4 Go, il est heureusement possible d'y ajouter une carte microSD. La batterie amovible met à disposition ses 1850 mAh pour l'alimentation de l'ensemble. Les photographes trouveront un capteur dorsal de 5 Mpx et un second frontal de 2 Mpx. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth et GPS sont de la partie, contrairement à la 4G, absente de ce modèle.

Lancé à 110 €, le Galaxy J1 2015 se trouve aujourd'hui sous la barre des 100 €.

ERGONOMIE ET DESIGN

Si le Galaxy J1 ne prétend pas vraiment pouvoir remporter un prix dans la catégorie "design original", il affiche tout de même des finitions très correctes. Le plastique est roi, évidemment, mais l'aspect légèrement nacré de sa surface lui donne une petite touche sympathique. Surtout, ce matériau a le mérite d'être insensible aux traces de doigts ou autres poussières parasites, en plus d'être plutôt robuste.

En main, la légèreté de l'appareil (122 grammes) lui donne presque des airs de terminal factice. Toujours est-il que son petit format lui permet d'être manipulé d'une seule main sans grand problème. Les touches de navigation sont situées sous l'écran et seul le bouton Home est physique. La face avant aurait pu gagner en optimisation, seuls 60 % étant occupés par l'écran.

L'avantage d'un corps si compact reste que les touches de volume et de mise en veille sont accessibles sans gymnastique des doigts. La configuration très modeste de l'ensemble lui permet également de ne jamais monter en température, quoi qu'on lui soumette.

ECRAN

Le Galaxy J1 propose un écran de 4,3 pouces en dalle TN. Une technologie qui souffre de nombreux défauts, dont des angles de vision très restreints et un taux de contraste très faible. Ici, il faut vraiment être parfaitement en face de l'afficheur pour y voir clair et nous avons mesuré un taux de contraste à seulement 558:1. Il faut alors faire le deuil de la lisibilité en plein soleil, malgré une luminosité maximale correcte de 430 cd/m². Le plus gros problème vient du taux de réflexion lumineuse, qui atteint l'un des pires scores de notre comparatif (25 %). La faible définition de 800 x 480 px ne permet pas vraiment d'obtenir un affichage fin ; la lecture de textes, sur des pages web par exemple, en pâtit.

COLORIMÉTRIE

Delta E = 6,6

La colorimétrie n'est pas non plus un point fort de ce J1. Nous avons relevé un delta E à 6,6, avec des dérives marquées particulièrement sur les couleurs primaires. La température des couleurs a été mesurée à 7763 K, attestant d'une dérive bleutée, qui se voit notamment dans les tons clairs.

Comme si tout cela ne suffisait pas, l'écran du GJ1 est peu réactif. Le retard tactile grimpe à 158 ms et sa mollesse se ressent clairement à l'usage. Un écran à oublier en quelque sorte.

INTERFACE ET NAVIGATION

Toujours sous Android 4.4.4 KitKat, le Galaxy J1 commence à accuser un certain retard sur le plan logiciel. D'autant que la surcouche TouchWiz de Samsung n'était pas à l'époque la plus légère qui soit. Toutefois, son fonctionnement reste assez proche de celui d'un Android pur, seul le côté graphique affichant une réelle différence.

Le J1 ne s'embarrasse pas avec des fonctionnalités propres et ne propose aucune fantaisie en termes de gestes raccourcis. Cela a au moins le mérite de rester plutôt clair et l'on ne se perd pas dans les paramètres.

Le plus gros problème qui se pose ici reste le peu de mémoire disponible pour l'utilisateur. Au premier démarrage, on a moins de 1 Go à disposition, pas de quoi installer grand-chose en somme. Le passage à une carte microSD se montrera très vite indispensable.

Les deux cœurs ARM Cortex-A7 à 1,2 GHz et les 512 Mo de RAM qui les accompagnent ne font pas décoller le J1. Tout est globalement lent, même sans parler d'applications gourmandes. Le simple fait de naviguer dans les menus semble être une tâche lourde à gérer pour ce smartphone. À réserver aux utilisateurs patients, très patients.

MULTIMÉDIA

Quand on a face à soi un écran si médiocre, l'idée même de regarder une vidéo peut donner des vertiges. D'autant que le lecteur intégré n'est pas le plus complet qui soit et que les contenus ne s'affichent pas sous leur meilleur jour. Les vidéos en HD ne conservent pas vraiment une fluidité à toute épreuve non plus, et ne parlons pas de Full HD.

VIDÉO

AUDIO

Ceux qui espéraient se contenter de musique seront déçus. La sortie casque est peu puissante et limite son usage aux casques peu gourmands. La nécessité de pousser le volume assez haut pour être audible par les autres, fait ressortir une distorsion assez élevée. Le haut-parleur est placé au dos, à côté du module photo. Il délivre un son que nous qualifierons de catastrophique, à peine suffisant pour un appel en mains-libres.

JEUX VIDÉO

Enfin, les joueurs qui auront su trouver la place pour installer un titre du Play Store se trouveront confrontés encore une fois à  cet écran. Hormis pour les jeux légers et peu demandeurs en puissance, il ne faudra pas compter sur le J1 p our se divertir.

PHOTO

Comme pour le reste, le capteur photo du J1 ne fait pas d'étincelles. Avec ses 5 Mpx, il ne faudra pas espérer une grande quantité de détails. En pleine lumière, la gestion de la balance des blancs reste correcte et la mise au point relativement précise, bien qu'un peu lente. En revanche, lorsque la luminosité diminue, le J1 n'y voit plus grand-chose et la mise au point devient alors aléatoire. Le bruit électronique envahit l'image et les clichés sont plus ou moins inexploitables. Vous pouvez retrouver le J1 dans notre face-à-face.

Le capteur avant de 2 Mpx est également plutôt mauvais. Il lisse énormément les photos pour tenter de compenser ses faiblesses. Le déclenchement est assez lent et l'on se retrouve souvent avec des photos floues.

Pour ceux qui se laisseraient tenter par de la capture vidéo, il faudra se contenter d'une définition HD 720p. Il faut aussi composer avec la rémanence de l'affichage et les quelques lags recensés. 

AUTONOMIE

La configuration modeste du Galaxy J1 ne pousse pas vraiment à le surexploiter. Dans des conditions d'usage standard sur notre protocole viSer, il n'expire qu'après 11h07, un score correct au regard de sa batterie de seulement 1850 mAh. Il fait ainsi beaucoup mieux que des concurrents directs comme le Rise 30 d'Orange (4h02) ou le Wiko Sunset 2 (5h43). Dans la pratique, le GJ1 peut vous accompagner pendant une journée et demie, voire presque 2 jours, si on ne lui en demande pas trop.

 

POINTS FORTS

Finitions correctes.Batterie amovible.Bonne préhension à une main.Autonomie correcte pour une si petite batterie.

POINTS FAIBLES

Écran peu contrasté et sujet aux reflets.Performances générales.Capacités limitées en multimédia.Temps de charge un peu long.Partie photo sans intérêt.Moins de 1 Go disponible au démarrage.

CONCLUSION

Le Samsung Galaxy J1 possède assez peu d'atouts, même pour un smartphone d'entrée de gamme. Seules la finition correcte et l'autonomie peuvent jouer en sa faveur. Si vous cherchez un petit smartphone sans vous ruiner, tournez vous plutôt vers un Microsoft Lumia 550 ou un Moto G 4G.

Samsung Galaxy A8

Before Samsung made its dramatic shift to metal and glass for the Galaxy S6, the company experimented with “premium” materials in its medium range first. The use of metal began with the Galaxy Alpha, and was later extended to the Galaxy A series, with these otherwise mid-range smartphones featuring metallic unibody designs.

The latest addition to the Galaxy A lineup is bigger, but thinner and more powerful. The question is, in this highly competitive mid-range segment, is it worth the buy? We find out, in this in-depth review of the Samsung Galaxy A8!

Design

As mentioned, the marquee feature of the Galaxy A series is the full metal unibody design, and that continues with the Galaxy A8. Unfortunately, that also means the battery is not removable. Chamfered edges go around the entire frame, and the body has been mostly rounded off along the corners and the back, with the exception of the sides that feature some very prominent angles. With a thickness of just 5.9 mm, the Galaxy A8 is Samsung’s thinnest phone to date, and the device is quite light, with a weight of 151 grams, despite its metal construction.

The Galaxy A8 comes with some very thin side bezels, which helps make it a little more manageable as far as one-handed use is concerned, even though it’s still a very tall phone. The metal build and extremely sleek profile is a great combination. That said, while it feels solid in the hand, the Galaxy A8 can still be pretty unwieldy at times, because of the large screen and the slipperiness of the metallic back.

The buttons and ports are in identical locations to other Galaxy A devices, with the power button on the right, placed within comfortable reach, along with the 3.5 mm headphone jack and the microUSB port found at the bottom. The single speaker unit is placed next to the camera on the back, and the volume rocker is on the left side. It has to be said that the volume controls are towards the top, making them very uncomfortable and awkward to reach. Also on the left is the dual-SIM card slot, with the second SIM slot doubling as a microSD card slot as well. Of course, this wouldn’t be a Samsung smartphone without the signature tactile home button, flanked by the back and recent apps capacitive keys, up front.

Display

The Galaxy A8 comes with a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with Full HD resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 386 ppi. The large size of the display makes it great for watching videos, playing games, web browsing, and pretty much anything else you’d typically want to do on your phone. It’s got everything that we love about Samsung’s Super AMOLED panels, like great viewing angles, high brightness, good outdoor visibility, and vibrant, saturated colors that make the elements pop off the screen.

Quad HD is what may get most people excited, but 1080p is more than enough, especially when considering the mid-range nature of this phone. The display is still very sharp, allowing for a fantastic display experience when reading text and various other content.

Performance

In most markets, the Galaxy A8 packs an octa-core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 processor, clocked at 1.5 GHz, and backed by the Adreno 405 GPU and 2 GB of RAM. However, our particular model is the Korean variant, which offers 2GB RAM but instead features an Exynos 5430 SoC. While there will be minor differences, we’d expect both versions to perform relatively similarly.

Everyday performance with the A8 was good, with everything running smoothly when browsing the web, multi-tasking, or playing graphic-intensive games.

There are some home screen stutters to be seen occasionally, especially when scrolling in and out of the Flipboard homescreen, but this is a software issue, and was also seen with the flagship Galaxy S6. Overall, the Galaxy A8 handles itself well, and in the grand scheme of things, the performance is at par with other smartphones with similar specifications.

Hardware

The Galaxy A8 comes with 16 GB or 32 GB built-in storage, and as mentioned, the second SIM slot can be used for expandable storage via microSD card, by up to 128 GB, leaving it on the users to choose between dual SIM or expandable storage. The device packs the usual suite of connectivity options, and while 4G LTE connectivity is available in select markets, that isn’t the case in the US, where you will be limited to HSPA+ on the AT&T and T-Mobile network.

A fingerprint scanner is also integrated into the physical home button of the device, and works just as well as it does on the Galaxy S6, allowing for a quick and simple way to unlock the phone. The setup process is identical, requiring a series of repeated presses until it completely captures your fingerprint, and you have the option to store up to a maximum of four fingerprints at one time.

Speaker quality from the rear mounted speaker isn’t the best, as it doesn’t get very loud and can be difficult to hear in noisier environments. The sound is also somewhat tinny and hollow, and so, the media-consumption experience is definitely lacking as far as audio is concerned. As is the case with any rear speaker setup, the sound also gets muffled when the device is placed on a flat surface.

Despite how thin the Galaxy A8 is, Samsung was able to pack a large 3,050 mAh battery inside the device, and as expected, the battery life it provides is really good. One of the most impressive aspects about this battery is when the device is in the idle state, often losing just 2 to 3% of battery when the device is kept without being charged overnight. Even with heavy usage that consists of a lot of gaming and watching videos on YouTube, the device still allowed for up to 4 hours of screen-on time, and because it idles so well, I was able to stretch the standby time to over a day. With more casual usage, the screen-on time reached almost 6 hours, and no matter how heavy or light your use is, you should comfortably be able to get a full day of use, if not more, out of the Galaxy A8.

Camera

The rear camera is a 16 MP sensor with an f/1.9 aperture, just like what is seen with the Galaxy S6. The sensor uses ISOCELL technology, but there is no optical image stabilization available with the Galaxy A8. The camera can also be launched via a double tap of the home button, which quickly launches the camera app, regardless of where you are within the phone or if coming from a sleep state. The front-facing camera is a 5 MP unit with a wide angle lens that allows for some decent looking selfies, but the default beauty mode settings are a little too aggressive, and that’s something you’ll have to tone down to get a more natural looking image.

The camera interface is mostly the same as what was introduced on the S6. It’s a much cleaner and more simplified UI, that the interface on some older Samsung devices. Only a few shooting modes are pre-loaded – including panorama, continuous shot, night, and Pro, which offers full manual controls. Users have the option to download other modes separately.

The main difference between the A8 and the S6 is the absence of HDR Auto, and the HDR toggle is buried in with the rest of the shooting modes, making the experience of switching between HDR and Auto mode a little bit clunky and slow.

What isn’t clunky and slow, however, is the shutter speed. It’s nice and quick, making it really easy to snap photos, and resulting in pretty good images. They’re very sharp and with plenty of detail, especially in above-average lighting conditions, and there’s still a good amount of clarity even when zoomed in. The images are colorful and saturated as you would expect from a Samsung camera, making for some very crisp and vibrant images. Dynamic range is already pretty good in normal mode, but HDR, should you ever need it, does a great job at introducing some extra detail and color without appearing overexposed or unnatural.

Samsung galaxy J3

Weight: 138g
Dimensions: 142.3 x 71 x 7.9mm
OS: Android 5.1.1
Screen size: 5-inch
Resolution:  720 x 1280
CPU: 1.5GHz quad-core
RAM: 1.5GB
Storage: 8/16GB
Battery: 2,600mAh
Rear camera: 8MP
Front camera: 5MP

However, it's fired out loads of cheapies and mid-rangers over the last year or so – and its latest effort in this department, the Samsung Galaxy J3, is roughly what you'd get if you took the Moto G4 and injected it with a good shot of Galaxy S7 DNA.

But, while that sounds promising, in reality the Galaxy J3 misses out on a couple of near-essential basic features, making it a worse buy than some of the usual-suspect budget picks – it doesn't unseat the Motorola Moto G4, and the Oppo F1 is superior too.

Samsung Galaxy J3 price

It's worth considering how big an issue those niggles are for you, though, as at just £149 ($199, AU$260) the J3's price is pretty keen for a Samsung.

You do need to be doubly careful about which model you buy though, as there are several differently-specced versions of the Samsung Galaxy J3 floating about across the world, some with worse cameras than others; we're reviewing the UK version.

Design

Familiar Samsung style in a plastic bodyRemovable battery

A few years ago even Samsung's top-end phones were plastic. Remember the Samsung Galaxy S5? Great phone, dodgy styling.

The Samsung Galaxy J3 looks quite a lot like the latest Samsung flagships, but the feel is more like that of the old guard. It's an all-plastic phone aside from the glass used on the front, and the central select button, which is metal.

This is no surprise given that the phone is super-affordable, but there's that hint of classic Samsung deception involved, with the sides of the Samsung Galaxy J3 intended to look like fancy frosted aluminum.

Friends will probably assume it's just 'the latest Samsung' at first glance, though, thanks to the unmistakeable button layout below the screen. It's not Apple-grade iconic, but you'd be surprised at how recognisable this configuration is, even among people who aren't obsessed with tech.

Aside from the cheaper plastic feel, the Samsung Galaxy J3's handling is fairly similar to that of the S7. Cheap phones are no longer smaller than expensive ones by default, and Samsung has done its best to make the J3 look and feel like the S7's cheaper brother. 

Like that phone it's 7.9mm thick, and its footprint is just a couple of millimeters longer.

It's a clever bit of design: while the J3 has thicker bezels and a less taut design, those are offset by the ever-so-slightly smaller screen. This phone has a 5-inch display, the S7 a 5.1-inch one.

The comparison only holds up on the surface, though, and the construction of the two phones is totally different. The Galaxy J3 has a peel-off plastic battery cover, hiding the removable battery, the microSIM slot and the microSD slot.

One thing to note here is the SIM size – the J3 uses the larger micro standard, not the nano one common in mid-range and high-end mobiles.

The more you look at and feel the Galaxy J3, the more it seems like a standard budget phone. However, the split-second impression it leaves is of being a lot like the Galaxy S7: good work Samsung.