Sharp today announced the Aquos S2, a handset with a notch display design similar to that of the upcoming iPhone 8. The resemblance with the iPhone 8 does not end here. Even at the back, the Aquos S2 features a vertical dual-camera setup.
First, let’s talk about the front of the phone which is dominated by a 5.5-inch with an unusual resolution of 2040 x 1080. The notch at the top houses the camera and other sensors. The S2 does have a significant bottom bezel which houses a capacitive home button and the Sharp logo. Strangely, Sharp has cut the corners on the Aquos S2 instead of making them rounded like LG and other OEMs.
The vertically placed dual-camera setup at the rear houses a primary 12MP f/1.75 aperture shooter with the secondary shooter featuring an 8MP resolution with a f/1.75 aperture. Both sensors feature 1.4um large pixels and Dual Pixel for quick autofocus times. An 8MP selfie shooter is also located at the front of the device. The 140g heavy handset is powered by Qualcomm’s octa-core Snapdragon 630/660 chipset clocked at 2.2GHz. This is paired with 4/6GB RAM and 64/128GB of storage space. All this is powered by a 3020mAh that supports fast charging. The usual connectivity options and sensors are also found on the handset.
As the specs of the Aquos S2 would have made it clear, it is a mid-range handset and is not meant to compete with the likes of the Galaxy S8 or the iPhone 8. The handset will go on sale in China for 2,499 yuan, with the 6GB RAM variant coming in at 3499 yuan. Like with other devices that launch in China nowadays, don’t expect the Sharp Aquos S2 to be available in other parts of the world.