First Thoughts: Samsung Galaxy On5 and Galaxy On7

Samsung has launched its Galaxy On series of smartphones in India aiming for the budget market. Samsung has taken the fight to the rivals with the launch of Galaxy On5 and On7 smartphones. The phones, which resemble the earlier J5 and J7 have a similar footprint. We spent some time with the new Samsung Galaxy On5 and Galaxy On7 smartphones at the launch event and here are our first impressions.

DESIGN

When we first looked at the new Galaxy On5 and Galaxy On7 smartphones the traditional Samsung Galaxy design was evident. In terms of design both the Samsung Galaxy On5 and On7 follow the same design philosophy apart from the screen size there is no visible difference between the two. Both devices have two touch sensitive buttons and the physical button for home. The back panel is made of plastic it does not look or feel cheap. On the right you will find the power button and the left panel houses the volume rocker. At the bottom you have the Micro-USB port and a 3.5mm audio jack. The addition of metal on the sides gives both the devices a premium feel. Overall the phone feels quite nice in the hands.

HARDWARE

The Galaxy On5 features a 5-inch HD (720×1280 pixel) TFT display which is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core Exynos 3475 processor coupled with 1.5GB of RAM. It sports an 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. The device has 8GB of built-in storage that is expandable via microSD card up to 128GB. In addition to this the device is backed by a 2600mAh removable battery.

The Galaxy On7 features nearly identical specifications to the Galaxy On5, except for a larger display, different better processor and larger battery. It has a 5.5-inch HD (720×1280 pixel) TFT display and runs on a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor with 1.5GB of RAM. It sports a 13-megapixel rear autofocus camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. Similar to the Galaxy On5, the Galaxy On7 has 8GB of built-in storage that’s expandable via microSD card (up to 128GB). Also the Galaxy On7 houses a 3000mAh removable battery.

SOFTWARE

Galaxy On5 and Galaxy On7 are running Android Lollipop 5.1.1 skinned with Samsung’s TouchWiz UI with much less bloatware this time. There were no Microsoft apps preloaded on these handsets, hinting that the companies’ android lollipop agreement to push the apps might only apply to high-end Galaxy phones. One interesting feature in the phones is their Ultra Data Saving (UDS) mode where Samsung claims the phones will be able to compress data streaming by up to 50 per cent. Samsung is preloading its Mix Radio app in both the devices which will be available in Tamil, Punjabi, Bengali, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Oriya, Rajasthani etc. In our limited time spent with the Galaxy On5 and Galaxy On7 we found both devices responded quickly to touch inputs and there was no lag when using the handsets.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY 

Samsung has priced Galaxy On5 at Rs 8,990 whereas Galaxy On7 costs Rs 10,990. Both models are exclusively available on Flipkart and will go on sale starting November 4 midnight. Both the devices will be made available in black and Gold variant along with exciting bank and exchange offers.

OUR FIRST THOUGHTS

On5 and On7 are simply rebranded versions of Samsung Galaxy J series phones and both these phones will be facing tough competition from devices from Micromax, Xiaomi, Motorola and Lenovo. There are better and more powerful phones in this price range that offer more value for money. On one hand there are device like Coolpad Note 3 that offer better specifications plus a fingerprint sensor seems a much better deal and on the other we have Galaxy On5 & Galaxy On7 that are just another Samsung thing. We would still hold our final verdict for detailed Review.