Japanese smartphone maker Sharp is one of the few Android OEMs that doesn't shy away from experimenting with new designs and components. The company has launched some unusual devices in the past, and it's back with another exciting offering. Its latest device, the Sharp Aquos R6, looks like a pretty standard 2021 flagship from the front. It features a curved display with a centered hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera, minimal bezels on the top and bottom, and no unusual second notch. But over on the back, it's an entirely different beast altogether. While its back-panel design isn't as ludicrous as Huawei's upcoming P50 and P50 Pro, it packs a massive 1-inch camera sensor with a Leica-branded lens.
Sharp Aquos R6: Specifications
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Specification |
Sharp Aquos R6 |
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Build |
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Dimensions & Weight |
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Display |
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SoC |
Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 |
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RAM & Storage |
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Battery & Charging |
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Security |
Qualcomm 3D Sonic Max under-display fingerprint sensor |
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Rear Camera(s) |
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Front Camera(s) |
12.6MP |
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Port(s) |
USB Type-C |
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Audio |
N/A |
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Connectivity |
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Software |
Android 11 |
According to The Verge, the Sharp Aquos R6 is only the second smartphone to feature a 1-inch camera sensor. The Panasonic Lumix CM1 from 2014 was the first phone to feature such a sensor, and it was more of a point-and-shoot camera than an Android smartphone. On the contrary, the Sharp Aquos R6 packs everything you'd expect to see in a 2021 flagship, along with a massive primary camera sensor. The phone comes with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 888 chip, a curved high refresh rate OLED display, 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage, and a 5,000mAh battery.
When it comes to the camera, though, the Sharp Aquos is unlike anything you may have seen before. The phone packs a 20MP 1-inch CMOS sensor similar to what you'd find in Sony's premium RX100 compact cameras. It features a 7-element f/1.9 Leica Summicron lens with an equivalent focal length of 19mm, which is much wider than what you'd find on other phones released this year. As The Verge points out, the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra is the only phone that comes close, and it just has a 1/1.12-inch camera sensor. Unlike other flagship phones, the Aquos R6 features only one rear-facing camera, accompanied by an LED flash and a time-of-flight sensor. It also supports laser autofocus and Sharp's 8K HDR up-conversion technology.
Along with the massive camera sensor, the Sharp Aquos R6 also features an innovative display. The phone packs a 6.6-inch Pro IGZO OLED panel from Sharp, with a resolution of 2730 x 1260 pixels and a peak brightness of 2,000nits. It's a 240Hz high refresh rate panel that supports a variable refresh rate from 1 to 240Hz, 20,000,000:1 contrast ratio, and HDR support. Other noteworthy features include a wide under-display fingerprint sensor (it's the first phone with Qualcomm's massive 3D Sonic Max), IPX5 and IPX8 certification for dust and water resistance, Wi-Fi 6 support, Bluetooth 5.2, and expandable storage support via a microSD card slot (up to 1TB). On the software front, the Sharp Aquos R6 runs Android 11 out of the box.
Pricing & Availability
The Sharp Aquos R6 will go on sale in Japan in June through carriers NTT Docomo and SoftBank. Sharp hasn't shared pricing details or any information about international availability at the moment.