Sharp introduced the Aquos R6 in mid-2021 and wowed the world with the phone’s 240Hz display and 1-inch camera sensor. It also stole momentum from Sony as the phone was launched a few months before the Xperia Pro-I. However, the R6 was exclusive to the Japanese market, so Sony had the rest of the world to itself.
The other Aquos R phones have a similar story: great specs, limited availability. The most recent models, the Sharp Aquos R8 and R8 Pro, were also launched exclusively in Japan. A type of. The company just introduced the Sharp Aquos R8s Pro in Taiwan and you might think the “s” stands for some sort of update, but the specs appear to be the same.
The star of the show is the 47.2MP 1” sensor on the back, which has a 19mm f/1.9 lens. The only other real camera is the front one: a 12.6 MP selfie camera with a 27mm f/2.3 lens. There is a second module on the back, but its mission is to help the 1” sensor get the best photos possible. This is a 14-channel spectrum sensor that captures detailed data about ambient light conditions, which is then used to adjust photos from the main cam.
The other star is, of course, the 6.6-inch IGZO OLED panel with 1,260 x 2,730 px resolution, 2,000 nits brightness and 240 Hz refresh rate. These are the same as the R8 Pro.
The chipset is also the same, Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which is paired with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage (and a microSD slot to boot). The “s” model doesn’t even include a memory upgrade. The battery is also the same, with a capacity of 5,000 mAh.
The company is also launching the smaller Sharp Aquos R8. It shouldn’t surprise you to know that it’s the same as the Aquos R8. It drops to a 50.3 MP 1/1.55″ main camera (23 mm f/1.9) but gains a 13 MP ultra wide module (17 mm f/2.3), the front camera has a 8 MP sensor (26mm f/2.0 lens).
The R8s also has a smaller display, a 6.4-inch FHD+ IGZO OLED (1,300 nits, 240 Hz), and a smaller 4,570 mAh battery. It uses the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip albeit with less RAM, 8GB. The 256GB storage is expandable via microSD cards up to 1TB. Both phones come with a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Sharp is taking pre-orders for the two phones with early bird pricing: the Aquos R8s is TWD 23,490, the Aquos R8s Pro is TWD 32,490 (which equates to $735 and $1,000 in US dollars). Pre-orders also include an exclusive phone case and lens filter. You can get a TWD 500 discount code by filling out a short questionnaire.
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