Samsung Releases Internet-free Phone

By Bryan Brown

Staff Reporter

Are smartphones becoming too smart? Have we surpassed what a phone should be able to do?

If you believe so, like junior Anne Reboa, then you most likely are in support of Samsung’s Galaxy J2 Pro which was released in January of 2018.

“Your phone can do anything now, it’s a little much, only ten years ago did a phone without Internet seem to not be so crazy,” said Reboa.

The Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro is what seems to be a blast from the past. The phone, unlike practically every other phone nowadays, cannot connect to the Internet.

The idea of the phone is to cut down on being distracted.

If you walk into a crowded room and take a look around, it’s probably a safe bet to say at least half the people in that room are staring at their phones like a hoard of zombies.

With a phone that can only make calls, text, take pictures, and run simple apps such as the calculator, the Galaxy J2 Pro looks to tackle that problem.

Samsung has said they made the phone with the thought of students in mind.

If students had the Galaxy J2 Pro instead of the average iPhone, they believe attention in classrooms would go way up.

Not everyone is a fan of this.

“That’s ridiculous. An iPhone is so handy, you have everything you need right in the palm of your hands, you barely need a computer nowadays if you really think about it. Why would I want to go backwards in technology?” asked junior Adam Goode.

To many, the phone could seem as a step in the wrong way for phones if people only believe in the best technology.

The Galaxy Samsung Pro has a 5-MP camera in the front, and an 8-MP camera on the back, so you can take photos. But with no internet capabilities, the only way to upload a picture is by importing the micro SD into a computer and manually uploading it.

Many see that as a huge hassle.

“Why am I going to get a phone that I would have to take out a chip and put it in a computer to just get one photo,” said junior John Scala.

Goode seemed to agree with Scala.

“With my iPhone I can snap a picture and upload it in seconds. It really just doesn’t make sense to me,” said Goode.

Due to its lack of ability compared to the other phones on the market, the Galaxy J2 Pro also has its benefits.

The Galaxy J2 Pro is on the market for the price of about $186, while the iPhone X, the newest iPhone is on the market, currently at $999.

“No one is saying you have to go out and buy the phone, but with the large gap in price, and if you have another device already that has internet capabilities, you can see a lot of draw in a phone like this; a simple phone,” said Reboa.

Junior Edward Morgan seemed to have the same idea about the phone.

“I have a computer and an iPad, don’t get me wrong I have an iPhone as well, but with those two devices if I can get a phone that does what I need from a phone and can save 700 bucks, yeah I’m going to think about that,” said Morgan.

There seems to be a lot of speculation amongst people as to whether this phone will turn out to be great idea for Samsung, or if it will be a bust.

The Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro is currently not for sale in the United States of America, but you can buy one online.

About the author

Leave a Reply