Sharp Unveils Aquos R8 Series with Pro Model as its Flagship Smartphone

Sharp still sells mobiles in its home country of Japan. The company releases its yearly flagship smartphones in the month of May. This year is no exception, as the business unveiled the Sharp Aquos R8 series on 9th May. The company has introduced a “Pro” version of its flagship smartphone for the first time. Thus, the new Sharp Aquos R8 Pro functions as the Sharp Aquos R7’s legitimate successor. The vanilla model, however, is a scaled-back variant.

The displays and cameras on Sharp’s latest premium smartphones, like earlier models, are the key selling points. For those who don’t know, Sharp is the only known OEM except Xiaomi to use cameras that have been fine-tuned by Leica. Sharp also offers Leica smartphones with its own branding in Japan under the name Leica Leitz Phone. These gadgets are rebranded variations of handsets from the Aquos R series. Later this year, the Aquos R8 Pro might become the Leica Leitz Phone 3.

Sharp Aquos R8 and Aquos R8 Pro Specs

When it comes to the Aquos R8 series, LPDDR5x RAM and UFS 4.0 storage are combined with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 CPU to deliver power. With support for MicroSD card expansion, both models provide 256GB of storage. However, the RAM on standard is 8GB, and on Pro, it is 12GB. The phones have a 3.5mm headphone jack and are IP68-certified for water and dust resistance. Along with an in-display fingerprint sensor (the pro employs an ultrasonic sensor), they also provide dual stereo speakers that enable Dolby Atmos.

The smartphones include 10-bit Pro IGZO OLED displays that can refresh at up to 1Hz-240Hz and have Dolby Vision. The R8 Pro’s 6.6-inch display has a WUXGA+ (2730×1260 pixel) resolution and a maximum brightness level of 2,000 nits. The normal R8 has inferior specifications, measuring 6.4 inches, 1,300 nits, and FHD+ (2340×1080 pixels).

The main camera on the Aquos R8 Pro is a 50.3MP 1/1.55-inch Sony IMX989 with a Hektor lens, whereas the main camera on the Aquos R8 is a 47.2MP 1 inch Sony IMX989 with a Summicron lens. It’s interesting to note that the pro model has a 14 CH spectral sensor while only the standard one has a 13MP ultra-wide camera. Additionally, the latter can be fitted with filters from manufacturers including ELECOM and LOOF.

Even the front cameras on the two devices differ. The R8 Pro has a 12.6MP sensor, whereas the R8 comes with an 8MP camera. Sharp guarantees three Android updates and up to five years of security patches for the smartphones, which boot Android 13 out of the box. Batteries supporting the Aquos R8 and Aquos R8 Pro are 4,570mAh and 5,000mAh, respectively. Both cable and wireless charging are supported.