Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) 16GB SIM-Free Smartphone - Black (SM-J530F)

I got this for my sons birthday. It looks as good as new. It didn't come with the original box but my son didn't even notice when he whipped it open on his birthday, he was so excited to get his first phone. For a first phone for a kid it is ideal.It's a few years old and runs a bit slower than my S21 Ultra, but it is a bargain for the price. If I needed another starter phone for one of my kids or a cheap festival phone for myself I'd definitely get another.

I've only had this phone for a couple of days so can't comment on it's longevity however I'm surprisingly delighted. Returning to Samsung having had an Xperia z1 which suddenly stopped working after a few years heavy duty. Read mixed reviews though this model (2017) fared very much better. Veru thin and light, metal body very much more sturdy than past Samsung I've had. Very easy to set up since several things happened automatically BEFORE I mounted sim and SD cards (I had been dreading having to trawl through and transfer contacts list for example.) Easy to use though had to search for camera effects so jury still out on how this will go. It is however ready to shoot as soon as you access it unlike my old phone which was annoying. First charge lasted a day and a half which was very pleasing. There is a slot on top right side which isn't shown on quick start diagram, which is odd so I'll have to hunt for details about that. Takes a micro SIM so took a chance and cut my old one to size which seems to have worked. This phone does everything I need it for (internet, texts, phone, the odd game, Netflix) at a very reasonable price.

Stop being tricked into buying super expensive phones and measuring your life in megapixels and gigabytes you will never use. Bought this after my Samsung, which cost 3 and half times the price, passed away peacefully one summer's evening. Due to a small crack on the camera lens Samsung voided my warranty - a rant for another day. So I looked for a reasonably priced burner until my contract was up and I could upgrade my way back onto the mindless consumer highway. Bought this, opened it - this is the same phone!!! Albeit, in a marginally less flashy shell - although I find the matt finish much more aesthetically pleasing. It is more robust (man, these expensive phones feel like they'll break if you look at them sideways), the operating system is the same, the camera is excellent, the location and GPS features are more accurate. I feel like Bill & Ted when Lawrence Fishbourne wakes his slacker arse out of the Matrix.Maybe I'm an idiot - I always presumed there was a drop off in quality, or maybe that there was noticeable improvement in quality at a certain point in phones. That networks and phone manufacturers can keep the fact that reasonably cheap versions of the SAME PHONE exist is crazy. Don't waste your cash, buy this phone. Might even buy another one for when this one breaks.100% recommend - but deducting a star for Samsung voiding the warranty on my other phone - not my fault you built it out of sugar glass.

Great phone, came set to Italian but the first thing you get asked when setting up is what language so not an issue. Getting the Quick start in Italian was irritating as I didn't want to plough through the full manual to find out how to do basic things. Whether these things happen to you depend on who you buy from and they don't detract from the phone itself. Battery lasts me well but I'm not a heavy user and the charge time was short. It's a lovely solid phone, on the heavy side but it does have a metal back which makes it stronger. The camera is good and fast enough for most folks, haven't explored all of its options yet. If you want a good phone that does what is says on the tin but without the price of the latest (and not always greatest) then this is a good buy.

I bought this phone in 2019 and it was fabulous. Due to carelessness, it dropped from a small height onto a tough surface and the screen broke. It's endured a lot, so it isn't so bad, although I am in tears. Bought it again since it was so great and I was almost certain repairing it would be around the same price.The 'new enhanced updates' RUIN this phone completely; it's almost like a completely different device to what I had; ABSOLUTELY dissatisfied. I don't want this, AT ALL.It is somehow slower, it has lost almost FIFTY PERCENT (7.8GB/16gb used BRAND NEW) of storage space, things stick on your phone like malware, and to top it all off... NOTHING there can you get rid of.Had it been a small company, this would be shamed as bloatware, because it is. It's disgusting.Can't advise this phone now, AT ALL. Terrible firmware/software updates.Don't 'fix' what isn't broken.

The phone is a budget phone; for the price you pay, you get a decent device. The fingerprint reader was good, battery life and screen quality was ok. Due to the low RAM, it wasn't always very smooth running, especially when running certain apps like some large games. But for a simple phone used for basic functions like phone calls and text messaging, it would suffice.

Pros:Very fast.Looks good.Perfect size (in my opinion).Minimal bloat-ware (can easily be disabled).Amazing "Clicky" buttons.Very cheap for the technology your getting (I upgraded from a galaxy S4 which cost me nearly £1000 at the time via finance, this phone which costs a fraction of the price comes with more features and is much faster. You don't need to buy the latest galaxy S8 or S9 to have a great phone experience).Cons:No LED notification indicator.No removable battery.Neutral:720p display (Since it's on a 5.2" screen you can't really notice it, and to be honest, I prefer the extra battery life because my S4 was notorious for running out of battery constantly even when it was new and with power saving enabled).