When Samsung lifted the veil from the Galaxy Grand late last year, 5"+ phones weren't the norm as they are a year later. At the time the Grand was meant to be a very affordable big-screen phone for those who can't shell out $600 for a flagship outside of a carrier contract. With a dual SIM version, the phone was your only bet for a cheap large screen handset that can support two SIM cards at once - a very sought after option in emerging markets.

The specs were pretty ho-hum, though, even for 2012 standards, especially the 480x800 pixels screen resolution, which ringed in the abysmal 187ppi pixel density, and the basic 1.2 GHz dual-core processor.

This year, however, we have an abundance of big-screen smartphone choices, and some of them sport dual SIM versions, too, so Samsung had to up its game in this market niche with the Grand 2. We don't get a much larger display, as that would encroach on the Mega 5.8 territory, just a small bump from 5" on the original Grand, to 5.25" on the Grand 2.

The resolution, however, is greatly enhanced at 720x1280 pixels, making Grand 2 a very decent choice if you are after a brand name big-screen handset with dual SIM abilities. In addition we get a quad-core 1.2 GHz chipset of unknown make to replace the dual-core one, though the bump in performance will still be a far cry from the flagships out there.

The other more than welcome specs bump is in battery size - the 2600 mAh unit is as big as the one in the Galaxy S4, so battery life should be improved in comparison with the first Grand. We also get a slightly higher 1.5 GB of RAM amount, against just a gig in the original.

Designwise the Grand 2 is also in line with the late 2013 crop of Samsung, as it sports a faux leather back with stitching, similar to the Galaxy Note 3, indicating that Samsung is trying to break away from the plastic look of its phones, even in the midrange category. With the increase in screen diagonal we get a slightly taller Grand 2, which, however, is thinner and narrower, potentially easing one-handed operation.

Front view | Side view

5.78 x 2.96 x 0.35 inches
146.8 x 75.3 x 8.9 mm
5.75 oz (163 g)

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2

5.65 x 3.03 x 0.38 inches
143.5 x 76.9 x 9.6 mm
5.71 oz (162 g)

Samsung Galaxy Grand

5.53 x 2.66 x 0.27 inches
140.4 x 67.5 x 6.9 mm
4.23 oz (120 g)

Alcatel OneTouch Idol X

To see the phones in real size or compare them with other models, visit our Visual Phone Size Comparison page.

The Grand 2 will come in more color choices such as black, white and pink, but we still don't know the make-it-or-break-it information on the price tag. Last year the dual SIM Galaxy Grand wasn't exactly covering the term "affordable" entirely in relation to its specs, but this year the competition scenario is rather different for Samsung.

We are thus curious whether we will see one of the best dual SIM phones out there with the Grand 2, or another overpriced option. As you can see from the specs comparison table above, the dual SIM Alcatel One Touch Idol X beats Grand 2 in terms of specs and compact design, and is just around $350 without a contract, flaunting a 1080p display. Anything much above that price point, and Samsung will be relying on brand name, marketing and distribution to move Grand 2 more than its merits. Granted, we do get a removable back cover, extendable memory and larger swappable battery with the Galaxy Grand 2, which counts a lot these days.

Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Grand vs Alcatel OneTouch Idol X

Design
OS	Android (4.4.2, 4.3), TouchWiz UI	Android (4.2.2, 4.1.2)	Android (4.4.2, 4.2)
Dimensions	5.78 x 2.96 x 0.35 inches (146.8 x 75.3 x 8.9 mm)	5.65 x 3.03 x 0.38 inches (143.5 x 76.9 x 9.6 mm)	5.53 x 2.66 x 0.27 inches (140.4 x 67.5 x 6.9 mm)
Weight	5.75 oz (163 g) the average is 5.4 oz (153 g)	5.71 oz (162 g) the average is 5.4 oz (153 g)	4.23 oz (120 g) the average is 5.4 oz (153 g)

Display
Physical size	5.2 inches	5.0 inches	5.0 inches
Resolution	720 x 1280 pixels	480 x 800 pixels	1080 x 1920 pixels
Pixel density Pixel density - The pixel density of a display represents the number of pixels over an area of one inch. It’s measured in “pixels per inch”, or ppi. The higher the number, the more detailed and good-looking the display is.	280 ppi	187 ppi	441 ppi
Technology Technology - There are two main screen technologies currently used in phones and tablets: LCD and AMOLED. The former usually features a light source and liquid crystals, while the latter is based on organic light-emitting diodes. Newer LCD variations like IPS-LCD and Super-LCD allow for very accurate color reproduction and very wide viewing angles, where no significant image quality loss is observed. Current AMOLED screens differ in such a way that they can exhibit much more saturated colors (sometimes too much) and incredibly high contrast levels, which is due to black color being completely black in AMOLED displays.	TFT	TFT	IPS LCD
Screen-to-body ratio Screen-to-body ratio - Shows what part of the frontal area of a phone its screen occupies.	68.84 %	64.43 %	72.62 %
Colors	16 777 216	16 777 216	16 777 216

Camera
Camera	8 megapixels	8 megapixels	13.1 megapixels
Flash	LED	LED	LED
Aperture size Aperture size - The aperture of a camera is the opening through which light travels before it reaches the camera sensor. The smaller the number is, the bigger this opening is, allowing for more light to pass.	F2.4
Hardware Features	Autofocus	Autofocus, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)	Autofocus
Software Features	Self-timer, Digital zoom, Geo tagging
Camcorder	1920x1080 (1080p HD) (30 fps)	1920x1080 (1080p HD)	1920x1080 (1080p HD)
Features	Video calling
Front-facing camera	1.9 megapixels	2 megapixels	2 megapixels
Video capture			1920x1080 (1080p HD)

Hardware
System chip System chip - Most modern handsets use an advanced chip that includes many of the device’s hardware modules like the processor, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and sometimes even the wireless radio. This field shows what particular system chip (or System-on-a-Chip) is used in the phone.	Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 8226		MediaTek MT6589
Processor Processor - The processor is the main computing component of a phone and is a major factor when it comes to the overall speed of the device. Some more powerful smartphones use dual-core and quad-core processors designed to deliver greater performance.	Quad-core, 1200 MHz, ARM Cortex-A7	Dual-core, 1200 MHz	Quad-core, 1500 MHz, ARM Cortex-A7
Graphics processor Graphics processor - The graphics processor is important for the smooth operation of the system and especially in games and other applications that may involve complex graphics and animations.	Adreno 305	Yes	PowerVR SGX544
System memory System memory - System memory, or RAM memory is the type of memory that the device uses to temporarily store data from the OS or currently-running apps. The more RAM available to the device, the better the performance will be when multiple or heavier programs are running.	1.5 GB RAM	1 GB RAM	2 GB RAM
Built-in storage Built-in storage - Bigger storage capacity allows you to keep more content saved onto your device, such as more applications, photos or video. Games and video content typically take up the biggest amount of storage space.	8 GB	8 GB	8 GB
Storage expansion Storage expansion - Some handsets allow you to expand their storage capacity by using a memory expansion card – most often microSD. Expansion memory is mostly suitable for media storage, such as photo, video or music content.	microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC	microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC	microSD, microSDHC

Battery
Capacity Capacity - The bigger, the better! However, battery capacity is not the only factor that has an effect on battery life. Those include the chipset in use, the software running on the device, as well as the consumer's unique usage pattern.	2600 mAh	2100 mAh	2000 mAh
Talk time	17.00 hours the average is 19 h (1140 min)	10.16 hours the average is 19 h (1140 min)	20.00 hours the average is 19 h (1140 min)
Stand-by time		18.3 days (440 hours) the average is 19 days (465 h)	13.3 days (320 hours) the average is 19 days (465 h)
Talk time (3G)	17.00 hours the average is 17 h (1043 min)		12.00 hours the average is 17 h (1043 min)
Stand-by time (3G)	15.4 days (370 hours) the average is 24 days (581 h)		10.0 days (240 hours) the average is 24 days (581 h)
Music playback	69.00 hours
Video playback	10.00 hours

Multimedia
Screen mirroring		DLNA	DLNA

Cellular
GSM	850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz	850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz	850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
UMTS	850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz	900, 1900, 2100 MHz	900, 2100 MHz
Data	HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, UMTS	HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s, HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s, UMTS	HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s, HSUPA 11 Mbit/s

posted on 25 Nov 2013, 05:14 2

1. Nathan_ingx (Posts: 4292; Member since: 07 Mar 2012)

Idol X looks pretty good if not for the processor and battery...leaves me skeptical about its performance in regards to the resolution and processing power.

posted on 25 Nov 2013, 05:28 1

2. itsdeepak4u2000 (Posts: 3718; Member since: 03 Nov 2012)

Nice option but there should not be MTK chipset for quadcore.

posted on 25 Nov 2013, 05:52 2

3. aayupanday (Posts: 580; Member since: 28 Jun 2012)

Now this one is gonna sell like hot cakes in India better than the previous Grand.

posted on 25 Nov 2013, 10:26 1

4. kanagadeepan (Posts: 979; Member since: 24 Jan 2012)

Yes, if Sammy priced it correctly...

posted on 26 Nov 2013, 00:29

5. techsurround (Posts: 3; Member since: 20 Nov 2013)

nice comparison, just got upcoming smart phone Glory 4 leaked specs at wirews digital technology magazine.