Samsung Galaxy J6 Hands-On, First Impressions

Samsung has just released another mid-ranger in the market sporting almost the same specs as the Galaxy A6 — the Galaxy J6. We were able to play with it a little bit during its launch and here are our initial impressions.

The Samsung Galaxy J6 has a simple overall design, probably too bland for some since there are no prominent linings or gimmicks. The phone is encased in polycarbonate and has a smooth finish. What’s sad here is that it feels and looks a lot cheaper than it actually is.

Button placement is the same with the Galaxy A6 and A6+, even the speaker and the dual slots for the SIM trays are at the exact same spot. Again, this kind of setup takes a bit of time to get used to, but the location of the buttons are logical and ergonomic.

Sadly, like it’s A-series siblings, the J6 also uses a microUSB port.

The build is a lot different compared to the Galaxy A6. While light and relatively thin, it doesn’t feel as premium and as sturdy as its A-series sibling. We advise using the device with care as we don’t feel like it can take that many drops or bumps.

When it comes to screen quality, it is just about right. It has a 5.6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED screen with vivid colors and deep blacks. Although, those who are accustomed to higher resolution displays will immediately notice the lower 720p screen. Another caveat is that, even though we have an 18.5:9 display, the top and bottom bezels are quite thick giving the impression that the device is a lot bigger than it should.

The only real difference of the Galaxy J6 and A6, apart from their design, are their cameras. The J6 is equipped with a single 13MP f/1.9 aperture rear and a single 8MP f/1.9 aperture front camera. A noticeable downgrade from the A6’s 16MP rear and front shooters. We were able to play with it a bit and we can honestly say that image quality is a little sub-par compared to the A6. Low-light shots have noticeable grain and details are a bit off. Daylight shots are better but with washed-out colors. Then again, these are just quick shots from the show floor, we’ll surely test them out more in our full review.

Running the software department for the Galaxy J6 is Samsung‘s Experience UI on top of Android 8.0 Oreo, the same one found on the new A-series duo and the flagship S-series. We do get the full features that come with the OS, so that’s a plus.

The Galaxy J6 is powered by an Exynos 7870 octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM, the same setup that the A6 has. Check out our initial benchmarks for the A6 below, the performance of the J6 will most probably be identical if not close.

• AnTuTu – 62,923
• Geekbench – 722 (Single-Core), 3,569 (Multi-Core)

The Samsung Galaxy J6 is certainly at a weird position, it has a lower price tag than the Galaxy A6 but sports almost the same exact internals and even button placement. What’s even more intriguing is that the price is not that far, Php 13,990USD 238INR 20,210EUR 227CNY 1,736 (J6) vs Php 16,490USD 281INR 23,821EUR 268CNY 2,046 (A6). For just Php 2,500USD 43INR 3,612EUR 41CNY 310 more you can get a more premium looking device with a better build quality and cameras. Then again, you can look at the Galaxy J6 as a more affordable substitute for consumers who can’t push for the price of the A6. We’ll be sure to test the device more in the coming days, so stay tuned for our full review.

The Samsung Galaxy J6 will be available at Samsung concept stores and authorized retailers on June 16, 2018.

Samsung Galaxy J6 specifications:

• 5.6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED 18.5:9 display @ 1480 x 720 pixels
• 1.6GHz Exynos 7870  Octa-core processor
• Mali-T830 MP1 GPU
• 3GB of RAM
• 32GB internal storage
• expandable via microSD up to 256GB
• 13MP f/1.9 rear camera with LED flash
• 8MP f/1.9 front camera with LED flash
• Dual-SIM (Nano)
• 4G VoLTE
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
• Bluetooth 4.2
• GPS, Glonass, Beidou
• micro USB
• Fingerprint scanner
• Face unlock
• Android 8.0 Oreo
• 3,000mAh battery
• 149.3 x 70.2 x 8.2 mm
• 154g
• Colors: Black, Gold