Since 2014, when it launched its first near-bezel-less smartphone in the form of Sharp Aquos Crystal, respected Japanese tech giant Sharp has been at the forefront of creating handsets with downright stunning displays with incredible screen-to-body ratio.
The all-new Sharp Aquos S2, which was unveiled in Beijing just a few hours ago, represents the company's latest efforts in coming up with devices that challenge bigger players in the mobile industry to rethink just how much of a phone's face can be taken up by the screen itself.
Flaunting design characteristics reminiscent of Andy Rubin's Essential Phone and of 'creative renders' of the upcoming Apple iPhone 8, Sharp Aquos S2's main selling point would have to be its 5.5-inch 2,040 x 1,080 pixels resolution IPS 'Free Form Display' with an unbelievable 87.5% Screen-To-Body ratio.
As shown in the image above, Aquos S2 lacks a thick top bezel found in most smartphones. Instead, its screen is placed right on the edge of the top panel, so much so that the front-facing camera is surrounded by it. This look is largely the same as that of Essential Phone albeit the top corners of S2's screen are not cleanly trimmed.
Apart from its display and the Dual Rear Camera module made of a 12 MegaPixel shooter (f/1.8, PDAF, Dual Tone LED flash) plus a secondary 8 MegaPixel autofocus shooter that work together to deliver seven-level bokeh effect, Sharp Aquos S2's other technical specifications are more or less typical of a midrange Android smartphone this year.
It has an 8 MegaPixel f/2.0 front cam for selfies, a non-removable 3,020 battery pack, USB Type C port, Dual SIM Capability, and 4G LTE-A support.
Under the hood, it runs heavily-customized Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system with a 64-Bit Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor for the 4GB RAM, 64GB ROM version or a 64-Bit Octa-Core Qualcomm MSM8956 Plus Snapdragon 660 chipset for the 6GB RAM, 128GB ROM version. Both variants have expandable storage via the secondary nanoSIM slot that also supports microSD card memory expansion.
Now, as for the price, the base model with the Snapdragon 630 chip - which is now available for pre-order in China - goes for 2,499 Yuan (or about $370 USD or Php 18,720) while the more premium one with Snapdragon 660 - coming later this year - will sell for 3,499 yuan (or about $520 USD or Php 26,320).
Gadget buyers here in the Philippines can only wish that a distributor would be interested to bring Sharp Aquos S2 to our country. And why not? Given that we are the fastest growing mobile devices market in South East Asia, I think Sharp should fight the urge to brush off the Philippines as unimportant or irrelevant. I mean, who knows? With the right strategy and funding, their mobile business could flourish here.
The all-new Sharp Aquos S2, which was unveiled in Beijing just a few hours ago, represents the company's latest efforts in coming up with devices that challenge bigger players in the mobile industry to rethink just how much of a phone's face can be taken up by the screen itself.
Flaunting design characteristics reminiscent of Andy Rubin's Essential Phone and of 'creative renders' of the upcoming Apple iPhone 8, Sharp Aquos S2's main selling point would have to be its 5.5-inch 2,040 x 1,080 pixels resolution IPS 'Free Form Display' with an unbelievable 87.5% Screen-To-Body ratio.
As shown in the image above, Aquos S2 lacks a thick top bezel found in most smartphones. Instead, its screen is placed right on the edge of the top panel, so much so that the front-facing camera is surrounded by it. This look is largely the same as that of Essential Phone albeit the top corners of S2's screen are not cleanly trimmed.
Sharp Aquos S2's back panels is made of 3D 'single sheet' glass while the mid-frame is anodized aluminum. The combination of these materials give this handset a high-end look. The standard version is available in a number of colors, namely, Blue, White, Black, or Mint Green.
Apart from its display and the Dual Rear Camera module made of a 12 MegaPixel shooter (f/1.8, PDAF, Dual Tone LED flash) plus a secondary 8 MegaPixel autofocus shooter that work together to deliver seven-level bokeh effect, Sharp Aquos S2's other technical specifications are more or less typical of a midrange Android smartphone this year.
It has an 8 MegaPixel f/2.0 front cam for selfies, a non-removable 3,020 battery pack, USB Type C port, Dual SIM Capability, and 4G LTE-A support.
Under the hood, it runs heavily-customized Android 7.1.1 Nougat operating system with a 64-Bit Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 processor for the 4GB RAM, 64GB ROM version or a 64-Bit Octa-Core Qualcomm MSM8956 Plus Snapdragon 660 chipset for the 6GB RAM, 128GB ROM version. Both variants have expandable storage via the secondary nanoSIM slot that also supports microSD card memory expansion.
Now, as for the price, the base model with the Snapdragon 630 chip - which is now available for pre-order in China - goes for 2,499 Yuan (or about $370 USD or Php 18,720) while the more premium one with Snapdragon 660 - coming later this year - will sell for 3,499 yuan (or about $520 USD or Php 26,320).
Gadget buyers here in the Philippines can only wish that a distributor would be interested to bring Sharp Aquos S2 to our country. And why not? Given that we are the fastest growing mobile devices market in South East Asia, I think Sharp should fight the urge to brush off the Philippines as unimportant or irrelevant. I mean, who knows? With the right strategy and funding, their mobile business could flourish here.
