Samsung announced the Galaxy J3 2017 in June last year and it’s only fair to assume that the Galaxy J3 2018 will be here somewhere in June this year. However, even though June is still months away, what could well be a T-Mobile-destined variant of the J3 2018 has already been cleared by the Wi-Fi Alliance.
The phone comes with model number SM-J337T and runs Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box, which is the OS expected to power all Samsung phones that will be unveiled after the Galaxy S9 and S9+. Other than these, the WFA listing doesn’t mention a thing regarding the specs of the phone, which is not unusual.
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It’s worth noting that the leaked model number SM-J337T might end up on another device and not the said Samsung Galaxy J3 2018. Last year, the Korean company unveiled a device known as the Galaxy J3 Emerge with model number SM-J327. This name was specific to Sprint users in the U.S., but those on T-Mobile know the same phone as the Galaxy J3 Prime while Verizon, AT&T and Cricket users know it as Galaxy J3 Eclipse, Galaxy Express Prime 2 and Galaxy Amp Prime 2, respectively.
Looking at the new model number SM-J337T, it’s likely that the leaked phone could be the upcoming Samsung Galaxy J3 Prime 2018. However, whether it will also be unveiled on more carriers like it happened last year is still unknown, but it’s likely.
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As for the Galaxy J3 2017, it comes with model number SM-J330, up from model number SM-J320 used on the previous model. If anything, the Galaxy J3 2018 should come with model number SM-J340, but things might change due to some parts of Asia’s fear of the number 4.
April 3: Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and U.S. Cellular Galaxy J3 2018 cleared by WFA
It seems the Galaxy J3 Prime 2018 won’t be launching alone after all. More variants of the phone have been cleared by the Wi-Fi Alliance and from their model numbers, we can tell where they are headed.
The one with model number SM-J337A is heading to AT&T as the Galaxy Express Prime 3; model number SM-J337P will be sold on Sprint as the Galaxy J3 Emerge (2018); Verizon users will get model number SM-J337VPP, but this one is the prepaid version; and those on U.S. Cellular will get a Galaxy J3 2018 handset with model number SM-J337R4.
Like the T-Mobile-bound Galaxy J3 Prime 2018, the rest of the variants have also been cleared with Android 8.0 Oreo on board.
April 16: FCC clears T-Mobile’s Galaxy J3 2018
After the Wi-Fi Alliance, the FCC has now cleared T-Mobile’s Galaxy J3 2018 with model number SM-J337T. This shows that the release date is much closer, perhaps in the coming couple or so weeks. We expect to see other carriers’ variants stop by the same organization for certification, too.
April 18: Unlocked Galaxy J3 clears Wi-Fi Alliance
After clearing variants for all major U.S. carriers, the Wi-Fi Alliance has now cleared what appears to be the unlocked model of the Galaxy J3 2018 with model number SM-J337U. Like the rest, there’s Android 8.0 Oreo on board, but no specs details have been provided.
Nonetheless, the continued appearance of the Galaxy J3 2018 on the WFA means that the release date is close.
