Sharp has unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the Sharp Aquos R8 series, which includes the Sharp Aquos R8 Pro with up to 240Hz.
This marks the first time the company has released a ‘Pro’ variant of its flagship phone. As with previous iterations, the displays and cameras are the standout features of these premium phones. Sharp is one of the few OEMs that use Leica-tuned cameras on its handsets, aside from Xiaomi.
In addition to selling self-branded Leica smartphones in Japan, Sharp has Leica cameras in its Aquos R series handsets. The new Aquos R8 Pro will likely be available later this year as the Leica Leitz Phone 3.
The Sharp Aquos R8 and R8 Pro have the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset with UFS 4.0 storage. Both offer 256GB of storage with support for MicroSD card expansion. However, the RAM is lower on the vanilla model at 8GB, compared to 12GB on the Pro.
Despite having a 3.5mm headphone jack, both phones are IP68 dust and water resistant. They also have Dolby Atmos-supported dual stereo speakers and an in-display fingerprint sensor (ultrasonic on the Pro).
The phones feature a 10-bit Pro IGZO OLED display with up to 1Hz-240Hz refresh rate. It also supports for Dolby Vision content.
The R8 Pro has a larger 6.6-inch panel with 2,000 nits of maximum brightness level . It also has a 2730 x 1260 pixels resolution. The regular R8 has a smaller 6.4-inch panel with 1,300 nits of brightness and FHD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) resolution.
The Aquos R8 Pro boasts a 47.2MP 1-inch Sony IMX989 primary camera with a Summicron lens, while the Aquos R8 has a 50.3MP 1/1.55-inch camera with a Hektor lens. The standard model has a 13MP ultra-wide camera. On the other hand, the Pro has a 14 CH spectral sensor that can use filters from brands like ELECOM and LOOF.
The front cameras are also different, with the R8 sporting an 8MP shooter and the R8 Pro featuring a 12.6MP sensor.
Both phones run Android 13, with Sharp promising three Android updates and up to 5 years of security updates. The Aquos R8 and R8 Pro have 4,570mAh and 5,000mAh batteries, respectively, and support both wired and wireless charging.
We will know about the price when they become available for purchase in July. Overall, the Sharp Aquos R8 series boasts impressive specifications, particularly in terms of its displays and cameras, making them a solid choice for those in the market for a premium smartphone.
