Samsung Galaxy J5 preview: First look

Software

The Galaxy J5 runs on Android 5.1.1 with Samsung's TouchWiz UI on top. The UI looks similar to the one on newer Galaxy devices post the S6. You get some of the functionality of the more expensive Galaxy devices, including double tap Home button to launch the camera app system-wide, but there is no S Voice or multi window mode.

Samsung Galaxy J5 software

As is often the case with Samsung low-end offerings lately, there is no Samsung music player and you get the Google Play Music app instead. There is an FM Radio however.

The phone does come with some bloatware, including a bunch of games really poor and outdated Gameloft games, which are not even full games but simply demos and cannot be uninstalled, and Microsoft apps like Skype, OneDrive, OneNote, and Office apps. The Google Apps, on the other hand, are at a bare minimum, and Samsung does not even include Google+, Newsstand, or Play Books apps.

Hardware

The Galaxy J5 runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 MSM8916, with quad-core Cortex-A53 CPU clocked at 1.2GHz and Adreno 306 GPU. The phone also has 1.5GB RAM and 8GB storage, with support for microSD and USB OTG devices.

In synthetic benchmarks, the performance of the Galaxy J5 is on par with other devices running the Snapdragon 410 chipset. Only the new Moto G pulls slightly ahead due to its 1.4GHz clock speed, which gives it a slight advantage.

GeekBench 3

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy J7
  3619
• Huawei P8lite
  2813
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  2717
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  1589
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  1460
• Samsung Galaxy J5
  1418
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  1171

AnTuTu 5

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy J7
  38263
• Huawei P8lite
  35205
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  35038
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  24293
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  21581
• Samsung Galaxy J5
  21422
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  18245

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  15
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  12
• Huawei P8lite
  10
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  5.8
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  5.3
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  5.3
• Samsung Galaxy J5
  5.2

GFX 2.7 T-Rex (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  26
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  20
• Huawei P8lite
  16
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  10.8
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  9.7
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  9.6
• Samsung Galaxy J5
  9.3

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  6
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  4.1
• Samsung Galaxy J5
  1.8
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  1.8
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  1.7

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  12
• Samsung Galaxy J7
  8.3
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  4.1
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  3.9
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  3.9
• Samsung Galaxy J5
  3.8

Kraken 1.1

Lower is better

• Samsung Galaxy J7
  12038
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  12272
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  13083
• Samsung Galaxy J5
  14435
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  15988
• Huawei P8lite
  16743
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  18665

BrowserMark 2.1

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy J7
  1508
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  1359
• Samsung Galaxy J5
  1236
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  1171
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  1085
• Huawei P8lite
  981
• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  501

Basemark OS II

Higher is better

• Huawei P8lite (Snapdragon 615)
  799
• Moto G (3rd gen) 2GB of RAM
  619
• Huawei P8lite
  600
• Samsung Galaxy A5
  555
• Motorola Moto G (2014)
  526
• Samsung Galaxy J5
  503

In real world performance, the Galaxy J5 feels perfectly usable for a budget device. Most of the UI flows smoothly, and even scrolling through apps works remarkably well most of the times.

App launch and switching times are also quite good and it's only when you start running more than 5-6 apps with a few tabs of Chrome that the device starts hitting its 1.5GB RAM limit, which causes some delay when you switch apps as the phone has to draw them from scratch.

In terms of gaming, the phone can handle 2D and simple 3D games perfectly fine. The Snapdragon 410 does not have enough power under the hood to run heavy 3D games smoothly at 720p and that's the only place where you feel the need for more power. As is also typical for Snapdragon 410 devices however, the Galaxy J5 never gets even warm, let alone hot.

In terms of connectivity, the J5 has Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, A-GPS, GLONASS and LTE. The radio performance was fine but it must be noted that there is no magnetometer on the device, which means you can't use the compass feature in navigation apps. There is also no gyroscope, so you can't make 3D panoramas or use VR apps.