Sharp to Launch “Sharp Aquos S3” Smartphone on January 16

Sharp is gearing up for a new mid-range premium smartphone. The device carries the model number Sharp FS8032 and has recently been certified by Taiwan’s certification body, NCC. Sharp FS8015 was also certified by Tenaa in the previous month, and not only the specs but also the images agree with the certification of the NCC. This indicates that FS8015 and FS8032 are the same devices. The device had previously appeared in GeekBench, but with this new NCC certification, it is confirmed that it will be Sharp Aquos S3, the successor to Sharp Aquos S2, launched in August.

The company sent an invitation letter to the Taiwan media for a launch event where it will unveil “Sharp Aquos S3” in Taipei on 16 January 2018.

As for the design, the Aquos S3 will follow the Aquos S2’s curved back cover and rear dual-lens design. What’s new is the fingerprint sensor placement, which will be placed at the rear, giving more space in the front. As for the specs, the device will sport a 5.99-inch Full HD+ display and be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630/ 660. There will be two memory variants: 4 GB RAM + 64 GB internal storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB internal space.

The Aquos S3 will offer a dual camera setup stacked in a vertical arrangement on the rear consisting of 12 MP and 13 MP camera sensors and a 16 MP camera sensor on the front for selfies and video calling. The device will run on Android 8.0 Oreo.

Today, A list of supported terminals published in Google Play Help has been updated, and the Sharp Aquos S3 mini (Small version of SHARP AQUOS S3) carrying a model number Sharp FS8018 has been added.

So, we can expect a mini version of the device with model number Sharp FS8018 to be launched alongside the Sharp Aquos S3. Dubbed Sharp Aquos S3 mini, the device (Sharp FS8018) was previously certified by the Chinese Industrial Well-Known Breadth Depth Division, China Mandatory Authentication, Bluetooth SIG Certification, and TENAA.

The device sports a 5.48-inch FHD (2040 x 1080 pixels) liquid crystal display and has an aspect ratio 17:9, which is longer than a 16:9 display. It is powered by a 64-bit octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 630/ 660 clocked at 2.2 GHz. It will also have two memory variants: 4 GB RAM + 64 GB internal storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB internal space. The device measures 142.7 x 73 x 7.8 mm and weighs 140 g.

In the optics department, the Sharp Aquos S3 mini will feature a 16 MP camera sensor on the rear and a 20 MP camera sensor at the front, making it a selfie-centric smartphone. It runs on Android 7.1.1 Nougat and is backed by a 2930 mAh battery. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 5.0,  4G VoLTE, and more. The device appeared on GeekBench, scoring 961 and 5215 in single-core and multi-core tests, respectively.

As for the pricing, the device is expected to come with a price tag between Rs 29,000 and 32,000.