We knew a 2016 iteration of the Galaxy J1 was in the works, and it looks like Samsung has decided the device doesn't need any formal announcement. The Galaxy J1 2016 is already available at retail stores in Dubai; as leaks had revealed, the phone comes with specs that are slightly better than the original Galaxy J1, which we had found to be an extremely poor smartphone for the asking price. The price is roughly the same for the new device – it is available for AED 499 in the country, which translates to around $135.
The biggest upgrade on the Galaxy J1 2016 seems to be the display – it's a Super AMOLED display this time around, though the resolution is still 800×480 pixels. The screen size is 4.5 inches, meaning this might not be the sharpest panel out there, though the colors and contrast should be considerably better. Under the hood, there's an Exynos 3475 processor clocked at 1.3GHz along with 1GB of RAM (the original Galaxy J1 had 512MB/768MB RAM models). The cameras are a 5-megapixel and 2-megapixel rear and front pair, and the phone comes with 8GB of expandable storage, 4G connectivity, and a 2,050 mAh battery.
In addition to the Super AMOLED display, Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with Samsung's latest TouchWiz UX should also make for an improved experience. The design might not be to everyone's liking, however, especially if they opt for the gold version. Samsung is using a two-tone color at the front of the phone, so the gold version is black above the display and gold below it. If you don't like that, the black color option is what you will have to settle for if you intend to spend your cash on the Galaxy J1 2016.
There is no word on when the Galaxy J1 2016 will come to other markets, but we can expect countries like India and Bangladesh to get it sometime in the near future. At $135, the device comes uncomfortably close to the Galaxy On5 that is available in India, and we can expect a few price cuts to take place soon after launch. We'll do our best to get hold of a unit and subject it to a review; it will hopefully turn out to be a much improved successor to the Galaxy J1 instead of being yet another low-end Android phone from the world's largest smartphone manufacturer.
