Samsung Galaxy On7 review – the affordable 4G smartphone

Samsung enters the ₹10k competition by launching the Galaxy On series smartphones. There’s already a J series from Samsung available and this new Galaxy On series resembles somewhat in terms of design. We have already done the hands-on images of the Galaxy On7 and the Galaxy On5 review. The smartphone is priced at ₹10,990 and in this price range, there are many other smartphones available. Let’s see how Samsung keeps up with the competition, find out in Samsung Galaxy On7 review below.

In the box

• Samsung Galaxy On7
• Battery (3000 mAh)
• MicroUSB Cable
• Stereo Headset
• User Guide, Warranty Card, and other manuals

Samsung Galaxy On7 Specifications:

• Software: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with TouchWiz UI
• Display: 5.5-inch TFT display with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution (~267 ppi)
• Processor: 1.2 GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
• RAM: 1.5 GB
• Storage: 8 GB internal storage, 128 GB expandable using MicroSD
• Camera: 13 MP back camera, 5 MP front-facing camera
• Network: 4G LTE, Dual-SIM support (GSM + GSM)
• Battery: 3000 mAh battery
• Weight: 172 grams weight
• Dimensions: 151.8 mm x 77.5 mm x 8.2 mm

Design

The Samsung Galaxy On7 design is still kept the same, the chrome-like bezels, and didn’t change over time. It feels ice-age to me. The resemblance is like Samsung has rebranded the Galaxy J series, however, the materials used have changed significantly, it no longer feels cheap and the build quality is better. The smartphone is heavy (172g) and 8.2 mm thick. The display bezels can be easily ignored. The gold color variant may look premium at the first glance, but after all it’s plastic.

The back cover is still the same fake leather thingy found in the Samsung Galaxy On5. It can be, however, removed to insert the battery, MicroSD and SIM cards. The removal is quite easy. The backside sports a 13 MP camera with an LED flash alongside a speaker.

Looking at the both smartphones, Galaxy On7, and Galaxy On5, the only difference you can see in the design is the bottom mic location. Almost everything is same in both the smartphones in terms of design. And you might think, what’s the point in spending ₹2000 more on a smartphone with a 5.5-inch display that looks all the same, wait there’s more subtle stuff coming in the Samsung Galaxy On7 review, let’s take out the design first.

The Galaxy On7 supports dual-SIM (GSM + GSM) 4G LTE network. You can insert SIM cards by removing the back panel. The MicroSD is just above the SIM 1 slot.

The top features a 5 MP camera, a couple of sensors and below you’ll see capacitive touch buttons. Neither the buttons light up nor they vibrate. It also lacks the ambient light sensor.

Moving to the left is the volume control key followed by a power button on the right.

The top is kept empty with a sticker labeling Qualcomm 4G support while the bottom holds a MicroUSB port, a microphone, and 3.5 mm audio jack.

Display

Samsung did boast a large display here (5.5-inch), still the display uses TFT technology similar to the one we saw in the Samsung Galaxy On5. The resolution is kept 1280 x 720 pixels (267 ppi). The colors give you a warm effect that are slightly washed out. The screen doesn’t reflect too much, but it is prone to fingerprints. The brightness is sufficient to read under shaded areas, but not in sunlight.

Performance

The Samsung Galaxy On7 is powered by 1.2 GHz quad-core processor (Qualcomm Snapdragon 410) coupled with 1.5 GB of RAM. It takes 22 seconds to boot the smartphone, not bad. The specs are different this time and you may have noticed earlier in the spec sheet mentioned above. Samsung could have provided a 2 GB of RAM instead as some of the smartphones with same Soc (Qualcomm Snapdragon 410) has 2 GB of RAM.

The AnTuTu benchmark scored 21,320 points still below the Coolpad Note 3 (35,354). The Geekbench shows 436 points on a single-core benchmark and 1282 points on a multi-core benchmark. There is an Adreno 305 GPU which can take the entry level games like Angry Birds, 8 ball Pool, but not the heavy ones. The Asphalt Nitro is playable but not smoothly, you may feel choppiness sometimes. The Asphalt Nitro crashed many times. The performance is not too good for gaming.

Just after quit playing games for about 20 minutes, the temperature hit 52 degrees temperature for the system and 36.4 degrees temperature for the battery. The phone felt a little warmer on the front glass.

Software and UI

The Samsung Galaxy On7 comes with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with TouchWiz UI. The user interface is free from the bloatware. Some pre-installed apps, also found in the Galaxy On5, are Smart Manager, MixRadio, and Opera Max. The new TouchWiz UI has been changed visually.

The Smart Manager is built-in which will show you the battery, storage, RAM information. It also secures the phone with Knox security protection found on most of the Samsung devices.

Camera

The camera at the back is a 13 MP with a single LED flash. The back camera does takes some decent shots in daylight, however, the colors aren’t accurate and the camera doesn’t focus the objects properly. The colors do give warm effect and some details are washed out. There’s also less sharpness under the images. We have already shown you the camera performance in the Galaxy On5 review and they are quite similar. The night shots gave enough noise and glare when in the street lights. The performance is not good under low lights. The 5 MP front camera is average and does nothing great.

Storage and Connectivity

The Samsung Galaxy On7 has a 8 GB inbuilt storage. It can be expandable using a MicroSD up to 128 GB. You will only get 4.5 GB usable space which is still less these days. The smartphone supports FM Radio, Bluetooth 4.1, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, GPS (A-GPS and GLONASS).

Battery

As the form factor is increased, the battery of Samsung Galaxy On7 also grown bigger – 3000 mAh capacity. Although, the battery capacity is bigger as compared to Galaxy On5, we didn’t notice any significant change in the battery runtime. It does last more than a day if used lightly.

Pricing and Variants

The Samsung Galaxy On7 has 2 color variants and they are available in Black, and Gold. The smartphone is available for ₹8,990 for both the colors (8 GB variant). There is no 16 GB variant released from Samsung.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy On7 brings nothing new and barely stands with the competition though the build quality is improved. With that being said, it can be nevertheless a good buy if you want to stick with the brand name and it’s after-sales support. The performance of the hardware is acceptable at this price point, however, the camera could have opted somewhat better. There are phones available that provide a better hardware in this price range. Here are some of our suggestions:

• Xiaomi Mi 4i
• Lenovo K3 Note
• Coolpad Note 3
• ASUS Zenfone 2 Laser

Pros

• Good build quality
• Good battery life
• Removable battery
• MicroSD Support

Cons

• Low internal storage
• No notification LED
• No backlit touch buttons