There aren't many new phones you can compare to the 5-inch Samsung Galaxy J3. An extremely inexpensive device with parts to match, the phone nevertheless performed better than I expected, but never stellar. Battery life was strong, it ships with the current version of Android ( 6.0.1) and its daylight photography is good enough to post online despite the camera's low 5-megapixel resolution ( selfies, low-light shots, and indoor photos aren't quite as good) .
At $110 to $180 in the US ( pricing varies by carrier) , £140 in the UK ( for the 8GB version, from Carphone Warehouse) and AU$329 in Australia, the J3 also earns points for its immediate global availability. In the notoriously carrier-controlled US, for example, it sells on five networks ( AT& T, Verizon, Sprint, Virgin Mobile and Boost Mobile) .
The J3 is likable enough in its looks and feel, and its battery kept going long after I expected the phone to conk out - it lasted 15 hours in CNET's looping video drain test. Phone calls were also problem-free on the AT& T model I tested in San Francisco on medium-high volume. There's plenty of room to expand storage ( up to 128GB with a microSD card) and you can replace the battery if that's your jam. Where the J3 falters is mainly in its quad-core processor, which makes gaming slightly less smooth and the camera a half-beat late to capture and process photos.
