Which J7 Suits You Better?
This year, Samsung has released several J7 variants in the Philippines: You have the budget gaming-oriented J7 Core, the low-light snapper J7 Pro, and the dual rear camera J7+. As the latter two look alike at first glance, a lot of people would be asking: What’s the difference between the two, save for the price and the camera configuration? Let’s do a quick overview of their specs:
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro Specs
- 1.6GHz Exynos 7870 octa-core processor
- 3GB of RAM
- Mali-T830 GPU
- 5.5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display; 1920×1080 resolution
- 32GB of expandable storage (up to 256GB)
- 13-megapixel f/1.7 rear camera with autofocus, LED flash
- 13-megapixel f/1.9 front camera with LED flash
- 4G, LTE
- Dual SIM
- WiFi, Bluetooth
- GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS
- Fingerprint scanner
- Android 7.0 Nougat
- 3,600mAh battery
- Price: Php 15,990
Samsung Galaxy J7+ Specs
- 2.4GHz MediaTek Helio P20 octa-core processor
- Mali T-880 MP2 GPU
- 4GB of RAM
- 5.5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display; 1920×1080 resolution
- 32GB of expandable storage (up to 256GB via microSD card)
- Dual SIM
- 4G, LTE
- 13-megapixel f/1.7 and 5-megapixel f/1.9 rear cameras with autofocus with LED flash
- 16-megapixel f/1.9 front camera
- WiFi, Bluetooth
- GPS, A-GPS
- Fingerprint Scanner
- Android 7.1 Nougat
- 3000mAh battery
- Price: Php 19,990
Display: They’re Essentially the Same
No need to argue here: Since they are part of the J7 family, both the J7+ and J7 Pro have an amazing 5.5-inch Full HD Super AMOLED display. In comparison to IPS displays, AMOLED panels are better in giving deeper blacks and producing a wider range of colors.
Internals: The J7+ Is Arguably Better
While people may be complaining of the J7+’s MediaTek processor, it is better on paper: Aside from having 4GB of RAM (compared to 3GB on the J7 Pro), the J7+’s Helio P20 processor has a higher clock speed at 2.4Ghz (compared to the Exynos 7870’s 1.6Ghz clock speed). As for internal storage, both have a 32GB internal storage that is expandable via MicroSD.
Cameras: The J7+ gets a boost
Both the J7+ and J7 Pro have the same 13-megapixel f/1.7 rear camera. However, the J7+ gets an added boost with its secondary 5-megapixel f/1.9 rear camera, which gives it Galaxy Note 8-like features such as Live Focus. The same goes with the front camera: The J7+ gets an upgrade with a 16-megapixel f/1.9 unit. However, we have to do a full test on the J7+ to see if the upgraded cameras are worth it.
Battery: More Juice for the J7 Pro
While you get better cameras, the J7+ makes a compromise by using a smaller battery at 3000mAh. That being said, the J7 Pro may only sport a single rear camera, but you get a bigger 3600mAh in return. But since the J7+ uses a newer processor, there’s a possibility that it is just as battery efficient as the J7 Pro. Like the cameras, we have to do our full review on the J7+ to see if it is battery efficient in spite of having a smaller battery.
The J7+ Gets Good Upgrades, But Is the Price Right?
While the J7+ gets notable upgrades, its Php19,990 price may turn off a lot of people. However, people should note that it is packaged like a mini-Note 8 (sans S Pen), boasting of features like Bixby and Live Focus. With a smaller battery compared to the J7 Pro, along with the use of a MediaTek processor on the J7+, we expect a lot of discussion on whether the J7 Pro or the J7+ is the better buy.
