Hand on review: Samsung Galaxy J6

What is it: What is the in-thing for phone manufacturers? A tall screen. The J6 is a budget device falling somewhere along the entry-midrange spectrum. It offers the most affordable 18.5:9 Infinity Display equipped phone from Samsung.

Design: The all plastic construction has softly rounded corners, a full glass front and a smooth back that curves down where you typically grip. The plastic rear has a slight sating sheen to it that keeps fingerprints away. But it is prone to scratches as you place it down on tables and other surfaces in day to day usage. The 2.76 inch wide device is easy to hold in the palm even for people with small hands. The tiny fingerprint sensor on the back just below the camera lens is easy to reach. The satin texture prevents it from slipping. Overall, the device is perfect for people on the go who want a sleek, ergonomic device that fits into pockets easily and won't break.

Power: The J6 gets power from Octa-core Exynos 7870 1.6 GHz which has been running in many of their phones for a while now. The 3GB RAM and 32GB of storage on our test unit also checks the boxes for having the standard amount for mid-range phones these days.

The display sports curved-edge 2.5D glass. The 5.45-inch Super AMOLED HD+ display offers 720x1480 resolution at 294ppi density. What you get are crisp, vibrant colours complemented by excellent contrasting blacks. Pictures and text are super pleasant on the eyes despite being the current industry average resolution. Great for watching videos. Netflix much?

One weird thing though. There is no auto brightness adjustment as there is no ambient light sensor. SO you have to adjust brightness levels on your own for viewing in outside or while reading at night when you need low brightness. There's an outdoor mode that increases brightness for 15 minutes. But seriously, why not just give the sensor?

Connectivity: While it offers standard specs, it also offers all the standard connectivity options of 4G dual SIMS, Bluetooth 4.2 and a 3.5mm headphone socket. There's no NFC. It also has the S-Bike mode which disables calls and messages for safety when you're moving. Hello Pathao riders.

Performance and gaming: The typical screen animations are kept to a minimum and I did not feel there was any visible lag. Which is good because budget should not translate to a budget experience. You can run all the simpler games like Angry Birds (still being updated in 2018) or the brilliant side scrolling Super Cat Bros featuring retro graphics. Translation: Pixelated. You can run racing games like Asphalt but I did face an occasional stutter or two. Heat during gaming remains Acceptable. We got a score of 3872 on AnTuTu.

Camera: The rear camera is a 13MP and the front is an 8MP unit both featuring f/1.9 apertures. Daylight shots are actually quite sharp. You will get clean, slightly smoothed images that are pleasant and full of detail but colors appear a little subdued especially when outside. Greens seem to be affected mostly. Sample photos show bright, clean, vibrant summer foliage appearing a little dull in photos. Low light images are understandably grainy. The selfies, in bright light, are brightened up somewhat more. Colours are still muted but the processing leaves a smoother image overall. You get full HD video at max 1080p. Check our online story for sample photos.

More sample images in gallery at end of the review.

Battery: The 3000mAh battery isn't that big on paper but it is more than adequate considering the screen and the other lesser demanding specs under the hood. I managed to survive an entire day with my usual usage of tons of messaging and net browsing. I added an hour of gaming and an hour of video and was still left with plenty of juice to go.

Verdict

This seems to be a decent device for someone invested into the Samsung brand. Good form, solid build, very good screen without being a drain on the battery. Can take abuse and won't break. Camera image are sharp in good light. Lightweight and slim for being easy on the pocket. Good for casual gaming to medium gaming and great for watching videos. Camera is average but does offer sharp pictures in good light that can be tweaked on an editing app.

Photo: Ehsanur Raza Ronny

Specs

Display: 5.6 inches, Super AMOLED, 720 x 1480 pixels

OS: Android 8.0 (Oreo)

CPU: Octa-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53

GPU: Mali-T830 Mp1

RAM: 3GB

ROM: 32GB

Camera: Front-8 MP, f/1.9 & Back- 13 MP (f/1.9, 28mm)

Battery: 3000 Mah

Price: Tk. 21,900/-