It’s exclusive to one country
What’s more annoying than a phone with a notch on top? A phone with two notches. While Google has previewed this in a beta build, Sharp’s Aquos R2 Compact is the first phone brave enough to sport two notches. A smaller version of the Japan-exclusive Aquos R2, the Aquos R2 Compact wraps the bottom part of the display with a notch to accommodate the fingerprint scanner.
Through this approach, Sharp managed to increase the screen estate while being slightly smaller than the original Aquos R Compact.
While the dual notch design makes the Aquos R2 Compact stand out of the crowd, it is an awful design choice especially in an era where in-display fingerprint scanners exist and brands find ways to eliminate the notch.
Notchpocalypse aside, the Aquos R2 Compact’s 5.2-inch IGZO Freeform display has a Full HD+ resolution, supports Dolby Vision, and has a 120Hz refresh rate—a rare treat for smartphones. It comes with typical 2018 flagship specs: Snapdragon 845, 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, USB-C, IP68 rating, and a single 22.6-megapixel f/1.9 rear camera with both OIS and EIS. While you get a disappointing 2500mAh battery, the Aquos R2 Compact thankfully has MicroSD expansion and a headphone jack.
Sharp Aquos R2 Compact specs
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor
- 4GB RAM
- 5.2-inch Sharp Freeform IGZO Display, 2280 x 1080 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision
- 64GB internal storage, expandable up to 512GB via MicroSD
- 22.6-megapixel f/1.9 rear camera with Dual LED Flash, OIS, and EIS
- 8-megapixel front camera
- Dual SIM
- 4G LTE
- WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, NFC
- Fingerprint scanner, USB-C, IP68 certification, Dolby Atmos
- Android 9.0 Pie
- 2500mAh battery
Like most of Sharp’s Aquos phones, the Aquos R2 Compact is exclusive to Japan, so there’s little chance you will see this strangely-designed phone in the flesh.
