Meet the Samsung Galaxy Core

We were able to get a short hands on with a friend’s Samsung Galaxy Core. This device was supposed to be one of the Korean tech giant’s answer to the local and Chinese brands growing popularity in the Philippines. However if you think about it the Core is still quite pricey at Php12,490 given the specs that it brings to the table. We asked our friend why she went for this over local brands with better specs and she said that she’s after the reliability and prestige that the brand offers.

Did she made a the right choice? Let’s find out.

Samsung Galaxy Core Spec Sheet

• 1.2GHz Dual Core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
• Adreno 203 graphics
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB internal memory expandable up to 64GB
• 4.3-inches WVGA TFT display (480 x 800 pixels) 217 ppi
• 5.0-megapixels rear camera with autofocus and LED flash
• VGA front facing camera
• Dual SIM
• 3G/HSDPA, WiFi, WiFi hotspot, Bluetooth 3.0
• GPS, A-GPS
• 1,800 mAh battery
• Android 4.1 Jellybean
• Price: P12,490 (Samsung store); P11,500 (Kimstore)

Design and Build Quality

The Core follows the usual blueprint that Samsung uses for their smartphones. We get curved edges, plastic chassis, glossy back, and TouchWiz. If we didn’t know better, the Core looks a whole lot like all the other Samsung phones in the market and we would be hard pressed to tell the difference between the different models, lol. At least Samsung is consistent! 😛

For the form factor we have a 4.3-incher with the Core. It’s definitely very pocketable and easy to use with just one hand. However if you use your phones a lot for entertainment like videos and gaming you might find the 4.3-inch display lacking especially if you’ve gotten used to bigger displays.

Speaking of the display, we don’t get the famous AMOLED display that Samsung is known for. Instead we get a TFT panel which is still okay but you will notice some whitewashing. Colors could use some more saturation. Brightness is kinda decent though as we were still able to properly use it even under direct sunlight. For the resolution we get 800×480 which is dismal considering the price tag. Samsung could have bumped this up to at least qHD.

Over-all when it comes to hardware the Core delivers your usual Samsung experience but there’s no getting around the inferior display quality. That, for us, is the biggest weakness of this device.

Performance

The Core uses a 1.2GHz dual-core processor from Qualcomm. This is paired with 1GB of RAM which generally makes over-all user experience smooth and fluid. However it does encounter lag spikes and delays once you fire up complex live wall papers and when you play hardcore gaming titles. While it was able to properly handle Candy Crush Saga we were a bit perplexed why it struggled with Plants vs Zombies 2.

In this day and age it’s really hard to justify the performance this phone gives considering the price. At Php12,000 you can already pick from the flagships of local brands and even check out some of the latest offerings of Lenovo. All of them offer superior specifications which leads to better performance and user experience. We can’t vouch for durability though, especially from some brands, hehe.

Camera

We had a hard time taking pictures. Autofocus takes time before it snaps and the pictures tend to be washed out. In lowlight the camera struggles as well. here are some sample shots for your reference:

Verdict: Hard to Recommend

There’s just no getting around the fact that a lot of local flagships and even other options from global brands can beat the crap out of the Galaxy Core. For local there’s the newly released Starmobile Muse — quad-core, 5.0-inch Full HD, and fantastic optics. All you have to do is add 500 more! For global just add Php1,500 and you can get an LG Optimus G! That’s quad-core and LTE capable already. For Lenovo you can already go for the P780 with monstrous battery life. There’s also the THL W8S and W11.

In short, the Galaxy Core, from a “value-for-money” viewpoint, just doesn’t cut it.