Japanese company Sharp has announced a new smartphone that's unlike any other on the market currently. The Aquos R6 flaunts the biggest camera sensor ever seen on a handset, a higher dynamic refresh rate than competing products, and the Qualcomm 3D Sonic Max under-display fingerprint scanner.
Aquos R6 features a Leica-branded camera system with a one-inch sensor
The Sharp Aquos R6 allegedly features a one-inch Sony sensor. Image Credits - Engadget
The Aquos R6 comes with a one-inch smartphone sensor, and if you count out the Panasonic Lumix CM1, which was marketed as a communication camera capable of running Android, it is the first handset to feature a module of this size purpose-built for a smartphone.
Although Sharp hasn't confirmed this, the word on the street is that the Aquos R6 is equipped with Sony's rumored IMX800 one-inch sensor that was expected to make a debut with the Huawei P50 series. It has taken the crown from Samsung's 50MP ISOCELL GN2, which is 1/1.12-inches.
It's the only sensor on the phone's back, probably because the company thinks it's enough for all the heavy lifting. The downside is that the device only offers digital zooming. Leica worked closely with Sharp on the camera system, and this is all the more indication that the optics company no longer works exclusively with Huawei in the smartphone space.
The one-inch unit is a wide-angle camera, with a resolution of 20MP, aperture of f/1.9, and a focal length of 19mm. It boasts a 7-element "Summicron" lens made for it exclusively by Leica. Sharp claims that it has one-tenth the distortion of conventional lenses, which should lead to sharper images.
The lens is much wider compared to the main camera on most other phones but still not as wide as ultra-wide cameras. The camera unsurprisingly takes up a lot of space but it's not too chunky. It is accompanied by an LED flash and a time-of-flight module.
Aquos R6 comes with a Pro IGZO OLED
The Aquos R6 sports a 6.6 inches proprietary display with a resolution of 2,730 x 1,260 and a refresh rate as high as 240Hz. The refresh rate is dynamic and can go as low as 1Hz, depending on the content being displayed. The screen has a peak brightness of 2,000 nits.
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The phone is also one of the first smartphones to feature the 3D Sonic Max ultrasonic fingerprint reader that was announced by Qualcomm in December 2019. It comes with improvements that address the issues that plagued the first iteration - it's 17 times bigger to avoid positioning issues and can read two fingerprints at once for better security.
The Aquos R6 hasn't skimped on the core specs. The phone is powered by the flagship Snapdragon 888 chipset which is mated with 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage, expandable up to 1TB. The front camera is 12MP and the device packs a 5,000mAh battery. It also has a headphone jack and runs Android 11.
On paper, it sounds like one of the best smartphones of the year. Unfortunately, it will likely only be released in Japan. Nonetheless, it provides a window into what's to come from other smartphone manufacturers.
The phone is set to ship in June when pricing details will likely be announced. Color options include black and white.
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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.
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