Apple launched the iPhone X last year with a notched display, and since then, we have seen the market flooding with smartphones having notched displays. However, some OEMs are now moving on from iPhone X-like notch and are embracing smaller notch that has the shape of a waterdrop. Well, while some people are still trying to get used to these notches, Japanese technology brand Sharp has launched a new smartphone – called Sharp AQUOS R2 Compact – that comes with not one, but two notches.
Yes, you read that right. The Sharp AQUOS R2 Compact comes with two display notches – one at the top and the other at the bottom. The notch at the top has the shape of a waterdrop and is reminiscent of the Essential PH-1, whereas, the second notch at the bottom is similar to the notch on iPhone X – albeit a narrow one.
The notch at the top on AQUOS R2 Compact accommodates the selfie camera, whereas the notch at the bottom covers the area around the fingerprint scanner. However, even with a second notch at the bottom, the chin is actually bigger than the bezels on the top, left and right side of the display.
Speaking about the display, the Sharp AQUOS R2 Compact sports a 5.2-inch display that has a resolution of 2280 x 1080 pixels. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass 3. Speaking about the build, while the front of the AQUOS R2 Compact is covered with 2.5D curved glass, the back of the smartphone is actually made of “acrylic resin hybrid material” – with the frames made out of aluminium. So yes, we aren’t looking at a glass-metal sandwich construction here.
Under the hood, the Sharp AQUOS R2 Compact comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 flagship SoC which is coupled with 4 GB RAM. The smartphone runs Android 9.0 Pie and has 64 GB of storage on-board. For photography, you get a 22.6 MP camera at the back, and an 8 MP camera on the front.
The Sharp AQUOS R2 Compact is offered in three colors – Smokey Green, Deep White, and Pure Black – and, keeping the lights on is a 2500 mAh battery underneath that draws power from a USB Type-C port.
Sharp AQUOS R2 Compact Specifications
- CPU: 2.6 GHz Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor
- RAM: 4 GB LPDDR4X
- GPU: Adreno 630
- Operating System: Android 9.0 Pie
- Display: 5.2-inch Full-HD+ (2280 x 1080 pixels) IGZO 120 Hz display with 2.5D curved Gorilla Glass 3, HDR 10, Dolby Vision and YouTube HDR
- Rear Camera: 22.6 MP with f/1.9 aperture, OIS, EIS and LED flash
- Front Camera: 8 MP with f/2.2 aperture
- Internal Storage: 64 GB
- External Storage: Expandable up to 512 GB microSD card
- Connectivity: 4G VoLTE, GPS, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 3.5 mm headphone jack, USB Type-C
- Other: Fingerprint Scanner, IP6X Dust Resistance, IPX5/8 Water Resistance
- Colors: Smokey Green, Deep White, Pure Black
- Battery: 2500 mAh
Sharp AQUOS R2 Compact Price and Availability
- Price: To be announced
- Availability: To be available in Japan. No word on availability in other markets.
