Sharp Aquos R3 Powered by Snapdragon 855 SoC Embraces Dual Notch Design

Last year, Sharp launched the Aquos R2 Compact smartphone with dual notches on the top and bottom of the display. In 2019, the companies are moving from notch displays to bezel-less and punch-hole displays. While no other company dared to launch a smartphone with dual notches, Sharp just released its second smartphone with the dual notch design. The new Sharp Aquos R3 is the company’s flagship smartphone for 2019.

From the front, the Aquos R3 looks the same as Aquos R2 Compact with dual notches. While the U-shaped notch on the top sports front-facing camera, the bottom notch which also a bit wider features a fingerprint scanner. The Aquos R3 comes with a 6.2-inch IGZO display with Quad HD+ (3120 × 1440 pixels) resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. The display also supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Under the hood, it comes powered by 7nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Mobile Platform coupled with Kryo 485 CPU and Adreno 640 GPU.

It comes packed with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. Talking about the cameras, the device sports dual camera setup featuring a 12.2MP sensor with f/1.7 aperture for capturing photos and a 20.1MP sensor with f/2.4 aperture for recording videos. Also, the rear cameras protrude out of the glass back body. For selfies, it comes with a 16.3MP front-facing with f/2.0 aperture. The Aquos R3 also comes equipped with stereo speakers and supports Dolby Atmos.

The device runs on Android 9.0 Pie out of the box. It measures 156 x 74 x 8.9 mm and weighs 185 grams. Connectivity options include 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, NFC, 3.5mm audio jack, and USB Type-C port. It is backed by a 3,200mAh non-removable battery and also supports 11W Qi Wireless charging. Along with the power button and volume rocker, the dedicated Google Assistant button is also placed on the right edge.

While the Sharp Aquos R3 comes with best-in-class specifications for a flagship Android smartphone, the design makes it look awkward. Just like the Aquos R2 Compact, the company might not launch the new Aquos R3 outside of Japan. While we don’t have anything to complain, we hope no other company gets inspired by this smartphone design. Stay tuned on Phone Radar for more details!