Samsung Galaxy Express Prime 3 Review
Samsung has taken note of the competition posed by the Chinese rivals in Smartphone sector. Those companies have been aggressive of late and captured a large chunk of market share in both entry level and midlevel Smartphone segments. While Samsung has received praise for its new mid range models, the entry level offerings have received lukewarm reviews. One example of the latter class is the new Galaxy Express prime 3. The model, exclusive to the AT&T network in the USA, is also sold under different monikers by carriers like Verizon, T-Mobile and Cricket wireless. In global market it is sold as the Galaxy J3.
Design & Display
Design wise, the Samsung Galaxy Express prime 3 does not look much different from most entry level models from the company. There is no metal used in body construction and that is not surprising considering its segment. The boxy shape is reminiscent of the previous incarnation of Galaxy J3 (2017). There is no bezel less display as well. There is no water repellent coating which can be found in rivals like Moto G6. At 152 grams, it cannot be called heavy.
The device sports a 5-inch display with HD 720p resolution. The display is decent, but not as bright as its higher priced siblings. Sunlight visibility is average and as expected, there is no ambient light sensor. An outdoor mode, however has been included by Samsung.
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy Express prime 3 sports a single 8 MP camera at the back, which is accompanied by a single Led flash. At the front, there is a 5 MP camera. While the camera performance is not the worst- it is best used for sharing images of social media sites. Low light imaging will be a hassle and users with unsteady hands will also fare worse. The front camera takes decent images in good lighting conditions. Video recording at 1080p is also just about okay. At this price point, you seriously cannot expect a dual camera setup and AI modes etc.
Hardware & Software
In terms of hardware and spec, the Galaxy Express prime 3 scores poorly when compared with the Chinese rivals. Almost every offering from Honor, Oppo and even Asus leaves it lagging far behind. The device is powered by a CPU that fares poorly when stacked with competitors like Snapdragon 435 or Mediatek Helio P10. Samsung has used the low end Exynos 7570 processor, which is quad core and has base clock speed of 1.4GHz. This is accompanied by only 2 GB RAM-measly by modern standards. Internal storage is 16 GB though expansion option is there through a microSD slot. The sluggish processor is neither suited for gaming nor it is ideal for multitasking users. It also churns out really low synthetic benchmark scores.
The phone has a USB port, headphone jack, and physical buttons for navigation and volume control. It runs on Android 8 Oreo. The Samsung overlay sits on top of it, as expected. The UI is smooth, but some third party apps have been packed in.
Battery & Other Features
The Samsung Galaxy Express Prime 3 is powered by a 2600 mAh removable battery. Even in the battery department, it is not noteworthy. Competing Smartphone models usually come with 3000 mAh or higher capacity batteries and some even has 5000 mAh batteries. Average users can expect a day’s usage after a full charge, but heavy users will fare worse.
The device comes with expected wired and wireless connectivity features including GPS, wifi and Bluetooth. However, it is rare to see a budget Smartphone coming with support for NFC and the Galaxy Express Prime 3 has it.
