Samsung Galaxy J3: Is It Worth Getting?

Samsung dominates in the world of luxury, high-end smartphones. Their Galaxy series is renowned for being great, even if they’re relatively expensive. In order to combat the image of their phones being for high-end users only, their budget friendly Galaxy J series is priced much lower. However, is the newest J3 worth it, even for the reduced price tag?

The Price

The first consideration for a budget phone, of course, is price. In that respect, you can rest assured that this phone is inexpensive. It runs between $210 and $130, depending on where you’re getting it. If that sounds really cheap that’s because it is: most phones cost at least double that to carry modern tech. That’s the trick with the Galaxy J3, though; it doesn’t sport modern tech.

Performance

This phone is slow. Glacially so, in fact. The processor feels like something from 2010, as apps and basic functions lag and struggle to keep up with the user. Launching apps is sluggish, web pages populate slowly and even returning to the home screen has noticeable lag.

The camera doesn’t fare much better. Indoor photos are fuzzy and light sources appear to have a blue haze clinging to them. Outdoor shooting is passable, but nothing to get excited about. The screen does the phone no favors here either. It looks alright, but not good. The battery life is the one redeeming feature of this stinker, lasting around 14 hours on a full charge.

Samsung Galaxy J3 Bottom Line

Needless to say, you should skip this phone. It surpasses the threshold of “budget phone” and dives head-first into the realm of “bad purchase.” If you’re in the market for a phone in this price range, look into something like the Moto G6 Play. It runs for $200 or so and sports a much better processor and camera. Neither are particularly impressive by modern standards, but they beat the heck out of the J3. In fact, if you’re not worried about $50 extra, the Moto G6 is a great budget option for $250.

In either event, steer clear of the Samsung Galaxy J3. It’s not worth the price, even with how low that price tag is. The Samsung name alone can’t save this mediocre phone from being just that: another terrible budget Android phone.