Sharp is expanding its Aquos series with the addition of a new bezel-less smartphone called Aquos R Compact, which stands by the core principles of what iPhone X, Andy Rubin's Essential and Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 follow. Sharp Aquos R Compact is a successor to the Aquos R, with the twist of a bezel-free display like the Aquos S2.
As the name suggests, the new smartphone is a compact or a smaller variant of its predecessor with toned-down specs. This should satisfy customers looking for a premium-style design in a smartphone without breaking the bank.
Sharp Aquos R Compact has a full-screen design with a notch at the top to accommodate the front camera. At the bottom, there's ample room for a physical home button embedded with a fingerprint scanner. This is a useful addition considering the iPhone X replaced Touch ID with Face ID this year.
Sharp Aquos R Compact has other strong USPs, such as a 4.9-inch Full HD+ with 2032x1080 pixel resolution, which should make for a really bright display. The handset boasts a 16.4MP rear-facing camera with PDAF, hybrid AF and LED flash, and it has an 8MP front-facing snapper for selfies.
Sharp Aquos R Compact is powered by a mid-range Snapdragon 660 octa-core chipset, paired with 3GB RAM and 32GB expandable storage. The handset runs Android 8.0 Oreo out-of-the-box.
Due to its compact design, there's a 2,500mAh battery under the hood, which is supported with Quick Charge 3.0 for fast charging. The dual SIM smartphone supports 4G VoLTE bands, has a USB Type-C port and IP68 certification for dust and water resistance.
Besides these traditional features, Sharp also includes its AI assistant EMOPA in the Aquos R Compact, which changes the screen depending on the time, place and user's personal needs among other AI-based things.
This concludes that Sharp isn't solely betting on the looks of the phone, but it also has strong USPs on other fronts, including its price around $372. The handset in four colours, black, white, silver and gold.
But there might be some disappointment regarding the phone's availability, as it is expected to hit the shelves in December exclusively in Japan. Furthermore, the handset will be distributed solely through SoftBank Japan.
