As part of its recently kicked-off ‘Sharp Brand Sale’, the Japanese electronics giant is offering the Aquos S2, Sharp B10, Aquos S3 (D10), Sharp R1 smartphones at lowered prices on Banggood.

The Aquos S2 usually retails for $189.99, but you can now buy it for just $161.99. This 15 percent discount will be valid for the phone’s black color version until April 22nd on Banggood. Note that there were only 99 pieces left for the promo.

Lucky Banggood users will also qualify for a free toughened membrane. This offer will be valid on the first come, first serve basis.
Alternatively, you can pre-order the global version of the Sharp B10 smartphone for a lowered price of just $141.36. This is a noteworthy 12 percent reduction in the device’s original asking price of $141.36. Note that the discount will specifically be valid for the black color version of the phone.
The Aquos S3 Global Version now carries a considerably lowered price tag of just $173.99 on Banggood. This is a significant 13 percent drop in the phone’s original asking price of $199.99. With only 99 pieces remaining, this promo is slated to end on April 22nd.

Those ordering the Aquos S3 from the promotion page will be eligible for receiving a free charging data cable. It is worth noting that this offer will be on the first come, first serve basis only. The Sharp R1 Global Version would normally set you back $119.99, but Banggood is giving its users a chance to get their hands on this feature-rich smartphone for a reduced price of just $99.99.

This 17 percent discount will be specifically available for the gold color version of the phone. There were only 99 pieces left for this promo, which will end on April 22nd.

In addition to the aforesaid Sharp-branded smartphones, the promotion page features a myriad of other well-received mobile phones under the ‘Must Have Phones’ category. More importantly, the devices included in the aforesaid section are available at heavily discounted prices.

Moreover, you can avail noteworthy discounts on a wide selection of mobile phone accessories as well. Aside from discounts, select items have been assigned coupons that can be used to save a considerable amount of money at checkout. You can click here to visit the promotion page and check out the rest of the products.

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The first time the Sharp Aquos S2 leaked, it was hard to unsee the striking resemblance it shared with the Essential Phone. The teaser was even the same as that of the Essential Phone when Andy Rubin first teased it. While Sharp may use the  “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” excuse, Andy Rubin isn’t happy about it.

In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, the founder of Essential shed some light on the matter. He revealed that Foxconn Industries manufactured the Essential Phone. The manufacturing giant which is also an investor and partner in Essential, also manufactured the Sharp Aquos S2. So while there are advantages in the partnership, there are also disadvantages.

Andy Rubin said in the interview “You should have seen that email!”, referring to the mail he sent to Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou, when he saw the Sharp phone. The details of the mail were not disclosed but we can assume that he gave Mr. Gou a piece of his mind.

In China it isn’t unusual to see phones from different brands look exactly alike. Take the bezel-less display craze that started with the Xiaomi Mi MIX for example. Quite a number of manufacturers made similar looking devices with some even having  “MIX” in their name.

Another example is the jump on the 18:9 aspect ratio train started by Samsung and LG. There are phones that share the same look as the Galaxy S8 and also called the S8 ( see the Bluboo S8).

So Mr Rubin, if Sharp didn’t copy your design, someone else would have done so eventually. However, while Sharp has been making bezel-less devices for years now, they can even be referred to as the pioneers, it will be unfair to pretend we can’t see that the Essential Phone greatly influences the design of the Aquos S2. Sharp does try to make the display look a bit different by making the top corners diagonal instead of curved.

Moving on from there, Mr Rubin also revealed two new modules for the Essential Phone. The Essential phone has two magnetic pins at the back where you can clip on the accessories that give your phone new features. Right now, the only one available for purchase is the 360° cam which will retail for $199 but can be gotten for $50 when you buy it with the phone.

The new modules he mentioned are a device that allows you send high quality audio to your car stereo while your phone charges via its main port. If you have forgotten, the Essential Phone doesn’t have a 3.5mm jack that you can plug an auxiliary cable into.

The second gadget is said to be the world’s smallest 3D laser scanner. he didn’t disclose the function of the scanner though. Another device he revealed is a standalone product called Home.

Home will work like Google Home or Amazon Echo but will have support for Google Assistant and Alexa. It will also run a special OS called AmbientOS which focuses on privacy.

A prototype unit shown reveals it has a circular display. We can make out a music widget, a widget that shows a list of smart devices (there is Nest and Chromecast on the list) and a third widget that has Spotify and AT&T icons.

Official images on the website reveals it will have a black body with a gold chrome base. The display is inclined so you don’t have to stand directly over it to see what is on the screen.

READ MORE: Essential Phone Goes On Sale Starts At $699, Promises Updates For 2 Years

The official website describes Home as a device “that plays well with others”. You can activate it by asking a question, tapping it or even glancing at it. Some of the functions shown include asking it to play  song, set a reminder or even dim the light. It will remind you about your appointments too.

There was no mention of when any of these products will hit the market.

(Sources: 1, 2)

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Sharp recently unveiled the Aquos S2 and just yesterday, the device went on its first sale in China on JD.com with all units reportedly being sold out in less than 24 hours. That shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the breath-taking bezel-less beauty the AquosS2 turned out to be. Sharp did a good job on the outward design and build quality of the mid-ranger but we don’t know about inside. Well, that has been sorted out with the Aquos S2’s teardown or disassembly carried out by Chinese tech blog- zol.com.cn.

The disassembly began with removing the back cover which is held in place with glue and then unscrewing all the nuts holding the frame in place. The back cover was removed using a suction cup and a heat gun, meaning this isn’t one for the novice to tear apart. After the back is removed, other components can easily be removed but it won’t be a good idea to try this at home if you don’t have the skill.

RELATED: Sharp Aquos S2 Official: First Snapdragon 630 Phone, Bezel-less Screen

On the whole, the Sharp Aquos S2 internal workmanship is very good, with the internal components well arranged in a manner that would be easy to effect a repair if need be. We can see the clever arrangements for the light distance sensor and the front camera despite the limited space. The front camera module had to be cut off from the screen at the centre in order to accommodate the selfie shooter.  The edges are also thickened on the inside to be able to resist strong impact. You can have a look at more of the teardown photos from below or check out the entire teardown process here.

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The full-screen Sharp Aquos S2 was unveiled today at an event in China. The event also marked the manufacturer’s official return to the world’s most populous nation.

The Aquos line is known for its bezel-less design and the S2 doesn’t deviate from it. However, it takes it up a notch with a familiar design. The bezel-less display of the Aquos S2 is 5.5-inch in size but it has a cut-out at the top, just like the Essential PH-1, for a front facing camera and sensors. The top corners are also diagonals instead of rounded or squared-corners.

The S2 does not only look attractive from the front, the rear is a stunner too. The back features a 5-surface single-piece 3D glass that wraps around the cameras, entire back and edges. This means there are no gaps and seams on the back of the device.

Aquos S2 Specs

The Aquos S2 sports a 5.5-inch display but the bezel-less design gives it a 4.9-inch look and a screen-to-body ratio of 87.5%. The S2 comes in two versions:

• Snapdragon 660 model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage
• Snapdragon 630 model with 4GB RAM + 64GB storage.

The S2 is the first smartphone to feature the Snapdragon 630 processor. The 14nm processor features 8 cortex-A53 cores and is clocked at 2.2GHz. It has support for Bluetooth 5.0, dual cameras and Cat. 12 LTE. The Snapdragon 630 is expected to be the successor to the Snapdragon 625.

Sharp has put two cameras on the rear of the S2 and have settled for a vertical design similar to the one seen in the iPhone 8 leaks. The cameras are a combination of an 8MP sensor and a 12MP sensor with dual-pixel technology and ability to shoot photos with the bokeh effect. The front camera is an 8MP sensor.

The S2 has a fingerprint scanner embedded underneath a home button up front. It also has NFC, so it should support Android Pay. There is a dual SIM slot that fits 2 nano SIM cards or one SIM and a microSD card (128GB max). A USB type-C port sits in the middle of two speaker grilles at the bottom. Battery capacity is 3020mAh.

Sadly the Aquos S2 doesn’t have an audio jack but it there is a Type-C audio cable adapter in the box along with a case.

The Aquos S2 will ship with  a new UI called Smile UX which has a smart assistant built into it.

Aquos S2 Price

The Aquos S2 will be available in crystal black, glazed white, blue, and mint green. The Snapdragon 660 model will sell for ¥3499 ($522) and the Snapdragon 630 version will be priced at ¥2799 ($418). However, buying the SD630 model on Jingdong will see you save ¥300 ($45). Sales will begin on August 14 at exactly 10:00 AM.

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Sharp is all set to release the Sharp Aquos S2 flagship in China today, but before its official launch, the phone has passed through TENAA certification confirming its specs. TENAA certified a brand new Sharp smartphone yesterday evening with the code name: FS8010. Judging from the specifications, design, as well as the timing of the listing, it’s safe to assume that this phone is the Sharp Aquos S2 that’s going to be announced today.

TENAA reveals that the Aquos S2 will come with a 2.2GHz octa-core processor, which should be the Snapdragon 660 chipset along with 4GB + 64GB and 6GB + 128GB storage options. At the back, the phone will feature a 12MP primary sensor along with an 8MP secondary sensor in a vertical arrangement. This should enable special features such as bokeh photos on the device. There will be a 2930mAh battery on board. The screen size is still the standard 5.5-inches, but owing to the larger screen to body ratio, the resolution is a bit weird — 2040 × 1080p instead of the traditional 1920 x 1080p. The phone is thin at 7.9mm and will be light weight at just 140 grams.

RELATED: These are the first samples from the Sharp Aquos S2

The back of the Sharp Aquos S2 has a peculiar finish and we can expect different color options to highlight this back texture at launch. However, in the TENAA listing, there’s just one color listed — white.

Given that TENAA revealed most of the details about the phone, we just have to wait for a few more hours to get its price.

(Source)

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Sharp has long released a poster that points at an August 8 launch date for the Sharp Aquos S2 which has been the subject of leaks for a while now. Ahead of the launch event, Foxconn Technology Group’s senior VP Dr. Luo Zhongsheng has shared a couple of sample photos shot by the Aquos S2’s camera. Foxconn pretty much owns the Sharp brand, in case you’re wondering the connection. The Aquos S2 is expected to pack a dual camera setup at the rear and that is reflected by the watermark on some of the photos. 

The Sharp Aquos S2 is expected to come with a number of sleek features and more than one variant. There will likely be up to three variants, with the top most variant expected to pack a 2160 x 3840 display (UHD). The device also features stunning set of themes which the VP had shared a couple of days back. Now, talking about the sample photos, the Aquos S2’s dual camera is shown to be capable of giving Bokeh effects to photos but we can’t say if it is going to be an RGB or monochrome combination or a wide angle + telephoto combination. The VP also shared sample photos shot in a dark area and they point at a camera setup that not only performs in areas with good visibility but also in the dark using the camera’s flash light.

Read More: Sharp Aquos S2 Leak Suggest 4K Bezel-less Display, In-Display Fingerprint, Will Launch on August 8

Basically, the Aquos S2 is expected to feature a 5.5-inch display on all variants while the resolution may vary, with one having a 4K resolution. The device is expected with a 12MP + 8MP dual camera setup and up to 6GB of RAM.Also expected, is a Snapdragon 660 processor on one of the variants, as well as a Snapdragon 330 powered variant.  There may likely be a variant with a flagship SoC but we’ll keep our fingers crossed on that. The Aquos S2 is also expected to come with a full-screen display without bezels and a fingerprint sensor that won’t be at the rear but on the display itself. Qualcomm recently unveiled the in-display fingerprint technology, could we be seeing it for the first time on the Sharp model? We’ll find out about that tomorrow when the device goes official. Check out some more photos from below.

(source)

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