On paper the Sharp Aquos R3 looks like a pretty decent flagship phone. It has a 6.2 inch, 3120 x 1440 pixel IGZO display with a screen refresh rate of 120 Hz. It sports a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, 6GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. And it supports 11 watt Qi wireless fast charging.
But the thing that really makes this phone stand out? It has two notches in the display — one at the top for the front-facing 16MP camera and one at the bottom for the fingerprint sensor.
I mean, I suppose if you can live with one notch, why not another? The design does allow Sharp to use a traditional fingerprint sensor rather than a finicky in-display version. Personally I’d probably prefer a sensor on the back of the phone, but I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
Anyway, the Sharp Aquos R3 probably won’t be available in the US anytime soon. But if you happen to be in Japan, then you may be interested in knowing that other features include dual rear cameras (12.2MP + 20MP wide-angle), a 3,200 mAh battery, face recognition support, 802.11ac WiFi, and Bluetooth 5.0.
Sharp hasn’t announced the price or release date yet.
via GSM Arena
We all knew the day would come. We just did not expect it to be so soon…
Only two notches? I am disappointed, in 2019 phones should have 4 notches, one on each side.
bah. Sharp needs to make a follow-on to their Sharp Aquos Crystal. bezel-less on 3 sides and an absolute joy to use.
I gues R2 Compact did never came out of Japan. Is there R3 Compact?
I’ve recommended the Sharp R2c before, it’s biggest issue is definitely availability, LTE Bands, and pricing.
Also the dual notch design is NOT BAD. They’re using a stretched-out aspect ratio like the LG G6, Samsung S7, iPhone X, etc etc… and they’re taking advantage of space that’s usually wasted while watching videos, taking videos, playing many games, etc etc.
In fact, I prefer Dual Notches. It makes the phone symmetrical. However, instead I want a loudspeaker and a selfie cam on both sides…. that way the phone can be used in either orientation and gets much better audio and camera performance! (though I prefer a Slim Bezel instead, like the new Meizu 16S)