Samsung is expected to announce its first Android Go smartphone very soon with a retail name of Galaxy J2 Core. In a new development, the phone yesterday received Bluetooth certification, hinting at its nearing announcement. Bluetooth SIG has certified a total of seven different models of the entry-level smartphone – SM-J260F, SM-J260M, SM-J260Y, SM-J260F_DS, SM-J260G_DS, SM-J260M_DS, and SM-J260Y_DS – many of which had appeared in previous leaks. All these models will presumably be directed at different international markets, especially the emerging ones, where Android Go-powered smartphones may have a potential market. Being dedicated to Bluetooth, the certificate doesn’t reveal any prominent information about the phone other than it featuring Bluetooth 4.2 chip.
This certificate is a clear indication that the handset could see the light of day in the coming weeks, given the fact that smartphone makers receive such certifications a few weeks before the device’s actual announcement. The Samsung Galaxy J2 Core Android Go smartphone has already been certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance and FCC earlier this month. It had also appeared on Geekbench benchmarking website this April sporting a mere 1GB of RAM while being powered by an Exynos 7570 processor clocked at 1.4GHz. A recent leak about the phone suggested it to come running Samsung Experience UI based on Android 8.1 Oreo (Go edition) out of the box, against the norm of including a near-stock version of Android. It will reportedly include all the Go edition and ‘lite’ apps for popular services like Gmail, YouTube, Facebook, and others. The same leak included the hands-on photos of the phone showing off its reduced top and bottom bezels resulting in the removal of capacitive navigation keys in favor of on-screen ones, a first for a basic Android smartphone from the South Korean giant.
According to the abundant leaks and rumors, the handset is said to sport a 5-inch Super AMOLED display in a conventional 16:9 aspect ratio with a resolution of 960 x 540 pixels. Its RAM and processor configuration will be what is previously mentioned and will be supported by 16GB of internal memory. An 8-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera will be a part of the package, while the phone will come equipped with a 2,600mAh battery.