Category: Sharp

Sharp Launches Aquos R3 With 120 Hz Display And Dual Notch

The Japanese technology company, Sharp has launched yet another distinctive smartphone which is called the Aquos R3. The newly launched device, like any other, has dual notch. Out of which one is present on top of the display while the second is present below it. Another highlighting feature of the Sharp Aquos R3 is its Pro IGZO display that has a praiseworthy refresh rate of 120 Hz. Except for the said handset, only the Razer Phone has a display with this high refresh rate.

Sharp Aquos R3 Design And Features

The newly launched Sharp Aquos R3 has a unique and distinctive design which is mainly because of the dual notch in the display. It features a notch above the display which houses the 16 MP selfie camera. While the so-called second notch below the display is a way to maximise the screen to body ratio while retaining a fingerprint scanner on the front of the device. The smartphone sports a 6.2 inch Pro IGZO display that has a Quad HD+ resolution of 3120 x 1440 px. As previously mentioned, the display panel has a refresh rate of 120 Hz which provides for an enriched media consumption experience.

The rear of the Sharp Aquos R3 harbours the dual camera setup and the company branding. The said dual camera setup consists of a 12 MP sensor, a 20 MP sensor along with an LED flash. Under the hood, it packs the Snapdragon 855 SoC which is comprised of Octa Core CPU and the Adreno 640 GPU. In terms of memory and storage, the Sharp Aquos R3 has 6 GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 64 GB of UFS storage. Furthermore, the internal memory is also expandable upto 512 GB via a microSD card.

Also Read: Google To Redefine App Ratings On Play Store, Emphasise On Latest Reviews

Connectivity options on the Sharp Aquos R3 include 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS and the bottom mounted USB Type C port. The smartphone is powered by a 3,200 mAh battery which also supports 10 W wireless charging. It is available in a multitude of colours which include Premium Black, Platinum White, Elegant Green, Pink Amethyst and Luxury Red. The smartphone has been launched for the Japanese market and the feasibility of this making to other markets are marginal.

May 9, 2019
Apple iPhone X Lookalike Sharp Aquos S3 Leaked In Live Images

Ever since 2018 rolled around, the density of smartphones with an iPhone X-like notch has been increasing. From Chinese smartphone makers like Doogee to established companies like Huawei, many devices are expected to be launched in 2018 with a notch. A few weeks ago, images of the Sharp Aquos S3 surfaced and new images of the device confirm the design’s inspiration from the iPhone X.

Leaked in live images, the Sharp Aquos S3 has an iPhone X style notch on top which probably doesn’t house a bunch of 3D sensors. In the images, it visible that the notch houses a front-facing camera along with an earpiece. Also, unlike the iPhone X, the notch is much smaller which gives the phone an odd look.

The bezels are thin but, the bottom bezel is thicker than the rest which has been a trend for a lot of smartphones. Even the leaked renders of the Huawei P11 Lite and Huawei P11 Plus reveal a thick bottom bezel. It will be interesting to see if a smartphone releasing in late-2018 will get rid of that odd thickness of the bottom bezel.

On the back of the smartphone is again, a familiar design language. The two cameras are placed vertically on the back and the positioning is very similar to the iPhone X. Where the Aquos S3 one-ups the iPhone X is in the fingerprint sensor department. Apple got rid of Touch ID in favour of Face ID and although Face ID has held up pretty well, a lot of people miss the fingerprint sensor.

Early Leaks

The Sharp Aquos S3 does not leave out the fingerprint sensor. 2018 will also see a lot of smartphones integrating a more secure form facial recognition which is more than just software based. Huawei already unveiled its technology in late-2017 and the Huawei P11 and P11 Plus are expected to have facial recognition which can be used for banking.

The Sharp Aquos S3 is expected to be unveiled at MWC 2018.

February 10, 2018
The Sharp Aquos S3 Has A Design Identical To The iPhone X

At the time of its launch, the iPhone X was met with mixed thoughts in terms of its design. However, one thing was certain, the iPhone X notch was going to be a heavily repeated phenomenon in the smartphone industry and so far, it’s holding its true. Even though the Essential Ph-1 did it before the iPhone X, the Ph-1 having a cyborg eye-like cutout for the front camera. The iPhone X however, has a bigger and more prominent notch to fit all the hardware required for Face ID.

The upcoming Sharp Aquos S3 will be launched on the 16th of January and its leaked images reveal a design very similar to the iPhone X. The smartphone will have a 5.99-inch LCD display with a 2040 x 1080 px resolution. The images also show off the iPhone X-like notch which appears to house just the earpiece and a camera.

Under the hood, the Aquos S3 will either have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 or the 630 chipset along with 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of onboard storage.

To the back of the device is a vertically placed dual-camera setup again, uncannily similar to the iPhone X. The visible difference here is that the LED flash is placed below the camera module rather than sandwiched between the two cameras like in the iPhone X. The Sharp Aquos S3 has a 12MP+13MP camera setup on the back but, there are no details about the type of lenses used.

One thing that a lot of Apple fans would’ve wanted in the iPhone X, is present in the Aquos S3 and that is a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. While Face ID has been great, the convenience of choosing between Face ID and Touch ID would’ve been ideal but, it also looks like Apple has plans to replace Touch ID with Face ID in all of its iOS and macOS devices.

6.2-inch Doogee V with in-display fingerprint scanner pic.twitter.com/mqn9w3UjHc
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 6, 2018

The Sharp Aquos S3 is not the first iPhone X lookalike that has made or will make its way to the Chinese market. Doogee, a Chinese smartphone maker recently launched the Doogee V with an iPhone X-like notch on the display and a dual-camera setup similar to the Samsung Galaxy S9+ leaks.

January 13, 2018
Sharp’s AQUOS S2 Has A Bezel-Less Display That Looks A Lot Like The Essential Phone

Edge-to-edge displays are fast becoming a staple in flagship devices with big players like Samsung, LG and reportedly Apple adopting the technology for their smartphones. Sharp’s AQUOS S2 is the Japanese company’s 29th device with similar design and it looks uncannily similar to the Essential phone PH-1.

The AQUOS S2 has a front camera notch at the top just like the Essential phone but has a smaller 5.5-inch 2040 x 1080 px display with 135-percent sRGB gamut and 550-nit brightness. The trimmed corners though, are very prominent due to its thin bezels and might throw some people off. Talking about thin bezels, the AQUOS S2 is rocking an 87.5 percent screen-to-body-ratio. You still get a decent 3,030mAh battery powering the device. The phone comes in two variants- one is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 along with 6GB RAM and 128GB onboard storage and the other one packs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 with 4GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage. The onboard storage is expandable via microSD card up to 256GB. The phone is running on Android 7.1.1 Nougat out of the box.

In terms of optics, the f/1.75 dual camera on the back consists of a 12-megapixel sensor plus an 8-megapixel sensor, both also feature a large 1.4um pixel size and together offer a seven-level bokeh effect. On the front is an 8-megapixel 1.4um sensor with an f/2.0 aperture. Sharp claims that the S2 has passed its “rigorous” drop tests for all six sides and four corners thanks to its aluminium mid-frame design. The S2 has ditched the old bone conduction actuator in favour of a conventional earpiece that’s hidden underneath the screen, next to the front camera, with its audio channelled to a thin pipe placed along the top edge of the screen for clearer sound.

The Sharp AQUOS S2’s availability in markets other than Japan is not yet clear, But China seems to be getting the phone as pre-orders have started. The standard model with Snapdragon 630, 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage is priced at 2,499 Yuan (about $370 or Rs. 24000), and it comes in black, white, blue or mint green. The premium model due to arrive later is priced at 3,499 Yuan (about $520, Rs. 33000) and packs a Snapdragon 660, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage doesn’t have the mint green option.

August 8, 2017