Paul Briden 06/02/2017 - 4:20pm

We take a look at a couple of lower-tier Samsung Galaxy alternative to see what saving your money gets you

The Samsung Galaxy S8 may be just around the corner, but for those with affordability in mind over raw spec power Samsung already has a handful of offerings available.

Today we take a look at the Galaxy S5 Neo and see how it compares to the slightly cheaper Galaxy J3.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo vs Samsung Galaxy J3: Specs

Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo Specs

  • Display: 5.1in Super AMOLED 1920x1080p Full HD @ 431ppi
  • Dimensions/Weight: 142 x 72.5 x 8.1mm, 145g
  • Processor: Samsung Exynos 7580 octa-core; 1.6GHz ARM Cortex-A53
  • GPU: ARM Mali-T720MP2
  • RAM: 2GB 
  • Storage: 16GB
  • MicroSD: Up to 256GB
  • Primary Camera: 16 MP, f/1.9 aperture, LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR, 1080p video
  • Secondary Camera: 5 MP, f/1.9 aperture, 1080p video
  • Battery: 2,800mAh
  • Connectivity: 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct,Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, GPS, Micro-USB
  • Software: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
  • Price (average): About £300 

Samsung Galaxy J3 (2016) Specs

  • Display: 5in Super AMOLED 1280x720 HD @ 294ppi
  • Dimensions/Weight: 142.3 x 71 x 7.9 mm, 138g
  • Processor: Spreadtrum SC9830 quad-core; 1.5 GHz ARM Cortex-A7
  • GPU: ARM Mali-400
  • RAM: 1.5GB 
  • Storage: 8GB/16GB
  • MicroSD: Up to 256GB
  • Primary Camera: 8 MP, f/2.2 aperture, LED flash, Geo-tagging, touch focus, face detection, HDR, 1080p video
  • Secondary Camera: 5 MP, f/2.2 aperture
  • Battery: 2,600mAh
  • Connectivity: 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct,Wi-Fi Hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS, Micro-USB
  • Software: Android 5.1 Lollipop
  • Price (average): About £150

Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo vs Samsung Galaxy J3: Features & Capabilities

The Galaxy J3 may be the newer model, but it's the cheaper of the two and although you do actually get a fair bit of bang for your buck here, there are a few specs where it lags behind slightly, as you might expect. The Galaxy S5 Neo, meanwhile, is essentially a repackaged Galaxy S5 flagship with lower-tier storage space.

Design wise both phones have a similar size and design language, so there's not a lot of difference visually, however, one crucial difference is in the functionality of the design; the Galaxy S5 Neo feature IP67 water and dust proofing, allowing it to survive a dunk in the bath or pool if you suddenly develop butter fingers. The Galaxy J3 has no such protection, so if it goes in the drink, you are screwed and will have to buy another phone - at that point, if you replace like-for-like and didn't have insurance, you will have paid the same as if you had originally forked out for the waterproof Galaxy S5 Neo. Food for thought.

The Galaxy S5 Neo's Super AMOLED display remains superb with a high fidelity 1080p, 431ppi panel. Likewise the camera tech is very capable thanks to that f/1.9 aperture, and it has a beast of a battery at 2,800mAh. It's also running on more up-to-date Android software.

The Galaxy J3's display is still Super AMOLED as well, meaning it's not bad at all; the 720p resolution means it's not as sharp, however, with a lower pixel density, though contrast and colour should be very good indeed. The J3 is also not far off the Galaxy S5 Neo in terms of the battery rating, meaning it should pack plenty of juice for that lower resolution display and less demanding processor.

By default the Galaxy S5 Neo comes with 16GB while the Galaxy J3 comes in both 8GB and 16GB variants, but assuming you go for the latter here things will be comparable across the board as both have microSD support for cards up to 256GB. There is a big difference in processing power though, with the Galaxy S5 Neo using Samsung's own Exynos 7580 chipset while the Galaxy J3 utilises a third party Chinese Spreadtrum SC9830A entry level chipset, and with 500MB less RAM to play with. In short, don't expect the J3's performance to be anywhere near the Galaxy S5 Neo.

Similarly, the Galaxy J3's camera tech is not up to scratch compared to the Galaxy S5 Neo, it uses a fairly low rated 8MP sensor with much narrower f/2.2 aperture allowing in less light than the Galaxy S5 Neo's f/1.9 wide aperture setup. The Galaxy J3 also lacks an NFC chip, meaning you won't be able to use Android Pay or other contactless payment e-Wallets or for pairing the phone with Bluetooth NFC accessories.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo vs Samsung Galaxy J3: Wrap Up

You'd be forgiven for thinking the tone so far implies we view the Galaxy J3 unfavourably, but actually that isn't the case. Considering the Galaxy J3 costs about half as much as the Galaxy S5 Neo it definitely has quite a capable spec and should offer a very compelling budget experience.

However, it is fair to say that you get what you pay for, and doubling your money gets something far more impressive with the Galaxy S5 Neo, while still saving hundreds (about double again!) on the price of the latest Samsung flagships.