Before we get down to the Samsung J7 Pro Review here’s a quick summary. with Samsung J7 Pro (aka Samsung J7 2017), the company has made an effort to hit the right (more premium) notes and this seems to have paid off well. No phone is perfect, but for a price of 20,000 INR, the J7 Pro could be as good as it gets for many consumers.
Samsung J7 Pro (Pros)
- Appealing design
- Premium build quality
- Good optics
- Captivating display
- Samsung Pay
Samsung J7 Pro (Cons)
- Fast charging missing
- No gorilla glass protection
- No splash or water resistant
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro Specifications
| Model | Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro |
| Display | 5.5-inch, Full HD, SAMOLED, 2.5D Glass |
| Processor | 1.6GHz 14nm based Exynos 7870 octa-core |
| RAM | 3GB |
| Internal Storage | 64GB, expandable up to 128GB |
| Software | Android Nougat |
| Primary Camera | 13MP (main), PDAF, f/1.7 aperture, Dual Tone LED Flash |
| Secondary Camera | 13MP front-facing camera, f/1.9 aperture |
| Dimensions | 152.4×74.7×7.9mm |
| Battery | 3600mAh |
| Others | 4G VoLTE, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, 3.5mm audio jack, USB OTG, NFC, Samsung Pay |
| Launch Price | Rs. 20,900 (lowest price available) |
The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) or as the company officially calls it – the J7 Pro (FAQ) – has some big boots to fill. Its successors -the Galaxy J7 Prime, J7 (2016) and J7 (2015) were all crowd puller for the company, and the J7 Pro is sufficiently evolved to take on the current market dynamics. The new J-series flag bearer has been with us for a few weeks now and we have summed up our thoughts and experiences in our Galaxy J7 Pro full review.
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro Design and Build
‘Well begun is half done’, as Aristotle put it, is a fitting proverb here. Samsung showcases its design and engineering prowess with the J7 Pro. No, it’s is not as mesmerizing as the Galaxy S8 siblings were, but it’s surprisingly well put together for a J-series phone (that we come to associate with the not-very-premium plastic build).
The phone is mainly a single piece of processed metal with display and 2.5D glass fixed on top. There are no visible joints here. Flat back with slanting edges to rounded sides – every aspect seems to be well thought off. With no swelling around the rear camera and extended U shape antenna bands, the phone looks very classy. The power button and volume rocker are made of plastic and are a bit wobbly.
Also Read: Best Design Phones Under 30,000 INR [July 2017]
Samsung gets another thumbs up from pushing dual SIM slots and with dedicated microSD card slot on the left edge. And once again, the South-Korean manufacturer neglects backlit in the navigation keys (may be on purpose). All in all, the Galaxy J7 Pro does very well in our design and build quality assessment.
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro Display
Samsung has hardly ever put a foot wrong with its AMOLED display panels and J7 Pro also features one of these. It comes with 5.5-inch full HD super AMOLED display that has most bases covered. It comes with perfect pixel-per-inch-count (403ppi) which results in crisp text and images. It offers good viewing angles, optimum maximum and minimum brightness levels, punchy colours, and 2.5D glass on the top further adds to the appeal.
The welcome addition is the always-on display feature for checking date, time and notifications without waking up the phone. On the down side, missing Gorilla Glass protection is an area of concern for prospective buyers. I would urge buyers to invest in a good case and tempered glass if you don’t want to see your phone’s fascia get scratched.
Also Read: Top 5 Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro Back Covers, Cases and Tempered Glasses
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro Camera
Optics wise, the J7 Pro comes with 13-megapixel cameras at the front and rear. While the front facing sensor is equipped with f/1.9 aperture, the rear one comes fitted with f/1.7 aperture lens. Samsung hasn’t overhauled its user interface. A swipe to left will grant access to various available modes, while a swipe to the right will bring in various filters to choose from.
The phone comes with phase detection autofocus which is certainly not as fast a laser autofocus or dual pixel which Samsung continues to keep reserved for its premium phones. The Galaxy J7 Pro rear camera takes a couple of seconds to lock focus. Our experience with the J7 Pro camera has been, at most, satisfactory. Well, details in the images are on the expected lines, the level of color saturation is a mixed bag. In most clicks, it was perfect. However, for images clicked in the dull lighting conditions colours appeared slightly faded.
The selfie camera on the front also manages to live up to our expectations. Still, the Galaxy J7 Pro selfie camera comes loaded with beautification options, focuses quickly and shows no shutter lag. All the selfies that we clicked tuned out good, both in terms of details, colours and contrast. Overall, the Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro cameras (both front and back) is right up there with the best in its price range.
Samsun g Galaxy J7 Pro Performance
Samsung once again trusted its old horse, Exynos 7780 chipset, for the J7 Pro. It is assisted by Mali-T880 GPU and 3GB RAM. In day to day performance terms, the phone manages to hold fairly well. No, it won’t blow your mind away but will do just fine. Be it running multiple apps, playing videos or games.
The phone comes with 64GB internal storage out of which about 52GB space is available to the end user. It also has a dedicated sd-card slot and supports OTG.
There were no heating issues with the J7 Pro even when we pushed it to its limits. The 3600mAh battery also manages to last my day (moderate to heavy usage). Samsung has also added three power-saving modes which prove extremely helpful in critical times. Sadly though, the J7 Pro doesn’t support fast charging.
Also Read: Gionee A1 Plus Review: Gionee’s New Camera Darling
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro Software
Samsung’s software prowess gives it an edge over all its peers irrespective of the price range. The Galaxy J7 Pro runs on Android Nougat out-of-the-box which is still rare on phones almost a year after its debut. 
Samsung rejigged its strategy a while back and now all phones come with Experience UI. It is fluid, easy to navigate, and appealing to the eyes at the same time. Samsung continues to offer most of the software based features such as S-bike mode, S-power, and Ultra data saver option on the phone.
That’s not all, the Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro supports Samsung Pay – a technology that lets you make wireless payments on any POS machine. It uses MST and NFC technology to make payments. There is also an option to make payments via UPI (universal payment interface) or multiple wallets. The Galaxy J7 Pro is the first ever J-series phone to support Samsung Pay.
Also Read: Samsung Pay India FAQ: What You Should Know Before Using It
Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro Review: Should You Buy It?
The Galaxy J7 Pro is mid-ranger dressed in a premium attire which at times raises your unreasonable expectation from the phone. But, if you keep J7 Pro price point in mind, you will find that it leaves hardly any room for complaints. Apart from its tempting looks and gorgeous design, the J7 Pro also offers a satisfying performance, a pair of good cameras, Intuitive Nougat based Experience UI and Samsung Pay which altogether makes a compelling case for it.
