Back in May earlier this year, Andy Rubin (who is considered by many as the Father of Android) had unveiled the Essential Phone, a new smartphone that comes with an edge to edge display. But few people seem to realize that when it comes to Android powered handsets with edge to edge screens, Sharp has actually been building those for several years now. As a matter of fact, the Japanese tech giant has produced more than a couple of dozen already.
Recently, Sharp has taken the opportunity to add another new option to its collection of edge to edge smartphones. Meet the AQUOS S2, a 5.5 inch smartphone that brings a 2,040 by 1,080 pixel resolution, as well as a nifty 135 percent sRGB color gamut and a 550 nit brightness. It is pretty unavoidable for the device to be compared to the Essential Phone, on account of their strikingly similar front appearance (including the same placement of the front camera), but when looking closer, there are some notable differences.
The AQUOS S2 smartphone takes full advantage of Sharp’s own Free Form Display technology, producing a remarkable screen to body ratio of 87.5 percent. Hardware specifications wise, the device packs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 660 (eight core Kryo 260 / 2.2 GigaHertz / 1.8 GigaHertz / 14 nanometer) or Snapdragon 630 (eight core ARM Cortex A53 / 2.2 GigaHertz / 1.8 GigaHertz / 14 nanometer) chip set. And it is also fitted with a highly capable 3,030 mAh battery.
With regards to camera specs, Sharp’s AQUOS S2 is armed with a dual camera configuration on the rear side (consisting of a 12 megapixel camera and an 8 megapixel sensor, with both offering f/1.75 aperture, 1.4 um pixels, plus a seven level bokeh effect). On the front side, the handset is equipped with an 8 megapixel camera, with f/2.0 aperture and 1.4 um pixels. Interestingly, Sharp has chosen to affix a fingerprint sensor on the front side, when similar devices like the Essential Phone or Xiaomi’s Mi Mix have their readers on the rear side.
For those who appreciate some elegance in their smartphones, they might be pleased to know that the AQUOS S2 features a 3D single sheet glass rear cover. The four edges of the casing are stylishly curved, and the whole thing is even molded with a bump (for the rear side camera). To top it all off, Sharp’s logo is engraved at the bottom section.
