Samsung Galaxy J3, J5, J7: 2017 vs 2016 versions

The Samsung Galaxy J series is a relative newcomer to the Samsung smartphone family. That being said, it does cater to users that don't require the best of the best from their handsets, and would rather save a few hundred bucks.

That's why the series enjoys a moderate success globally, and it's being upgraded for another year. But what exactly are the differences between last year's Galaxy J smartphones and the current generation?

Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) vs Samsung Galaxy J7 (2016)

In terms of design, Samsung has made some radical changes. The new Galaxy J7 (2017) looks like a much sleeker handset than last year's Galaxy J7 (2016). The side bezels were trimmed down, and the entire device was given a more streamlined and fluid makeover, all the way to the antenna lines and the rear camera lens.

When it comes to hardware, however, the two handsets are nearly identical. The most notable upgrade is obviously that of the display. Samsung has ditched the 720 x 1280 pixels screen, and replaced it with a 1080 x 1920 pixels one for the 2017 version. Another major change is the selfie camera sensor, which was upped to a 13 MP one from the previous 5 MP. Other than that, Samsung has snuck in a slightly larger battery and an extra gigabyte of RAM in the new model, while keeping the same Exynos chipset.

In terms of software, the new 2017 model is running Android 7.0 Nougat out of the box, while its predecessor is still on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. However, rumors have recently popped up that Samsung might be testing a Nougat update for last year's Galaxy J7.

Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) vs Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016)

The design of the Samsung Galaxy J5 (2017) benefited from the same improvements as its slightly more powerful sibling – streamlined shapes, smaller side bezels, and all other bells and whistles of Samsung's current design language.

Under the hood, the Galaxy J5 has undergone a massive overhaul. First of all, Samsung has ditched the Qualcomm Snapdragon 410, and put a home-grown Exynos 7870 in its place. The new processor is an octa-core one, as opposed to the quad-core Snapdragon of last year, and is clocked at higher speeds. Additionally, selfie lovers will be delighted to know that the 5 MP selfie camera sensor has been replaced with a 13 MP one. Memory, however, remained exactly the same – 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage.

Just like with last year's Galaxy J7, the Samsung Galaxy J5 (2016) comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow out of the box. Its newer counterpart, however, comes with Samsung's new UI on top of Android 7.0 Nougat.