The Samsung Galaxy Grand, which was launched last year, had received both positive and negative response from the buyers and the list of complains was not small, but based on the trust and market value Samsung has got, the Grand was still called as the a decent smartphone in a price range of Rs. 17500 in the Indian market. Samsung recently had launched a successor to this, the Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 with quite a lot of changes, improvements to not just the specs but also to the design, and make this a better choice in every possible way. The price of the Grand 2 is Rs. 22500, and this little increase in the pricing would be quite reasonable for the list of changes done by Samsung. Let us check out the detailed comparison between the two smartphones.
Form Factor – Size, Shape and Details
Do these smartphones look really different from the front? Not really. Why? you know it – Samsung doesn’t really bring out huge changes to the standard design and this has been there since years now. But, there are quite a lot of changes if you take a look at every tiny detail. Let’s see what are those changes which make the Grand 2 look better than the Grand.
| Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 | Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos |
| 146.8 x 75.3 x 8.9 mm (5.78 x 2.96 x 0.35 in) | 143.5 x 76.9 x 9.6 mm (5.65 x 3.03 x 0.38 in) |
| 163gm | 162gm |
There is a lesser bezel size around the display, and that makes it look better for the 5.25-inch display in almost the same width of the phone. Less curvy edges / corners are seen and thus, the device now looks more like the flagship Galaxy S4 from Samsung.
Back panel is a lot different – the Glossy plastic back in the Grand is replaced by the faux leather back that was seen in the Note 3, which gives it a premium finish. This is a lot better than the plastic back which was easily prone to scratches and fingerprint, and the stitch around the panel looks neat, while the leather also provides a better and smooth grip.
Grand 2 has become thinner, with the thickness of 8.9mm, compared to 9.6mm in Grand although the weight is almost the same. That is easily noticeable when you hold the smartphones in your hand, and although the actual size of the Grand 2 is larger, it doesn’t feel any heavier than the predecessor.
Smaller space in the bottom for the touch buttons, thus making the display accommodating more space without compromising the actual phone size. The top area above the display has no difference, with the sensors and the front camera lying beside the earpiece. Shape of the home button made rectangular from the curvy bottom edges in the Grand.
The mic in the bottom shifted its place from left to right of the MicroUSB port. That won’t matter at all though, and the top area has the 3.5mm headset jack at the same place.
Rim around the camera is made a little thicker in the successor, although everything else is placed quite the same. The actual module used is the same, with a rear 8-megapixel lens with the LED flash, and a front 1.9-megapixel camera. There isn’t much of a difference in the quality of capture, but the Grand 2 has got more features for the camera, thanks to the better OS version and the UI.
Display – Size, Resolution
The display in the Galaxy Grand 2 is a little bigger, with the size of 5.25-inch compared to the 5-inch one in the Galaxy Grand Duos, but Samsung hasn’t compromised with the display in terms of quality, as the WVGA display in the latter is now upgraded to the HD display in the Galaxy Grand 2.
| Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 | Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos |
| 5.25-inch display | 5-inch display |
| HD display | WVGA display |
| Resolution: 1280 x 720 pixels | Resolution: 800 x 480 pixels |
| Pixel density: 280 PPI | Pixel density: 187 PPI |
Interface – Android OS and Apps
The interface is not totally the same because the TouchWiz is well optimized for the Android 4.3 version as well as the larger display in the Galaxy Grand 2, but although you would notice those little changes, nothing much is different in the pre-installed apps list, and the home screens, settings are mostly the same. Storage wise although there is 8GB of internal storage provided in both of these devices, the Galaxy Grand 2 comes with more available storage because the system files are consuming lesser space. It is more than 1GB of free space extra in the Grand 2, which does make some difference.
Internal Specifications
The Galaxy Grand duos had a Broadcom BCM28155 chipset, a Cortex A9 one with two chips clocking at 1.2 GHz, and there was a Videocore 4 GPU along with it, while the processor in the Galaxy Grand 2 is Snapdragon 400 MSM8226 one, the quad-core one clocking at 1.2 GHz and this is supported by Adreno 305 GPU for the graphics.
The RAM in the original was 1GB while that in the Grand 2 is a little better, with that having a 1.5GB RAM. The battery capacity is again different, and that has to be there because the Grand 2 has a quad-core processor under the HD display, so there is a 2600 mAh battery included in it, while the Galaxy Grand comes with a 2100 mAh battery for the dual-core processor and the WVGA display.
| Samsung Galaxy Grand 2 | Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos |
| Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 | Broadcom BCM28155 chipset |
| Cortex A7, 1.2 GHz | Cortex A9, 1.2 GHz |
| Adreno 305 GPU | Videocore 4 GPU |
| 1.5GB RAM | 1GB RAM |
Slots for SIM, MicroSD
Both these smartphones are available with the Duos branding, which is the name given by Samsung for the Dual SIM devices. The Galaxy Grand Duos has a section for the SIM card below the battery and one above, and there is a separate slot for the MicroSD card, for which you will need to remove the battery. The Galaxy Grand 2 has both the slots for SIM cards beside each other above the battery, while the MicroSD card has to be inserted on a slot just over the SIM card.
The Grand 2 has two Micro SIM card slots, while the Grand Duos has the Normal SIM card slots.
Pricing and Final Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos is priced at somewhere around Rs. 17500 in the Indian market right now, while the Galaxy Grand 2 comes for around Rs. 22500, and although we see a good difference in the pricing, one shouldn’t be looking to purchase a Galaxy Grand Duos now, with the OS version which hasn’t got further updates, and the Grand 2 comes with the Android 4.3. Moreover, the Grand 2 has got some improved specs and a design which one would not complain about, especially due to the back panel with the Faux leather cover.
