Sharp Aquos R7- enormous 1-inch camera sensor … you can’t buy it

Sharp is not a well-known smartphone manufacturer, but it is known in its home market of Japan for releasing phones with huge camera sensors and bizarre display technology. Sharp has introduced the Sharp Aquos R7, a follow-up to last year’s Aquos R6 with its excellent 1-inch rear camera, with several noticeable changes that set it apart from the greatest Android phones like the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Google Pixel 6 Pro.

The Aquos R7 has a 6.6-inch IGZO OLED panel with a variable refresh rate of 1-240Hz and an FHD+ (2730 x 1260) resolution (via GSMArena). It has a maximum brightness of 2,000 nits. The display is protected by Gorilla Glass Victus, and the phone has an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor embedded in the display.

The phone has a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 5,000mAh battery on the inside. All of this is contained within an IP68-certified body that is dust and water resistant. On the connectivity front, the R7 has Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, USB-C, 5G, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Aquos line continues to be highlighted by its rear camera. The sensor size stays the same at 1-inch, but the resolution has been increased to 47.2MP from 20MP on the Aquos R6. It features a 19mm equivalent focal length and an f/1.9 aperture. The new Leica-branded camera, according to Sharp, can capture up to 1.8x more light than the previous 1-inch sensor.

Real-time face, body, and eye detection, Octa PD autofocus, 8K video recording, and 4x lossless digital zoom are among the camera’s other prominent features. A 1.9MP portrait camera is the sole other camera on the back. A 12.6MP selfie camera is housed in the display’s central punch-hole.

The phone includes Android 12 out of the box with Sharp’s custom UI on top of it. The device will be available in black and silver colors in Japan from July on Docomo and Softbank. Sadly, like previous Aquos phones, the R7 is unlikely to make its way outside its home market, so you likely won’t be able to get your hands on one.