Sony barely bothers to make phones anymore, but there’s another Japanese company that regularly brings out new models – the Sharp Aquos R11. The sequel to the Aquos R10, this phone adds a telephoto camera, upgrades to a higher-end chipset, offers a mixed bag of display and camera improvements and removes the microSD slot. Well, that sentence started strongly, but didn’t end on a high note.
The R11 features a 6.5″ Pro IGZO OLED display (1,080 x 2,340px resolution) with a 1-240Hz refresh rate. With 3,600 nits peak brightness, it’s the brightest display ever on an Aquos phone, beating the R10 display by 20%. It also has a 100% APL (ie an all-white display) There is 1,800 nits brightness.
Sharp Aquos R11 features a 6.5” 1-240Hz Pro IGZO OLED display
The front and back are protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2. The phone has been given IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance. Additionally, it is rated for MIL-STD-810G (drop resistance) and 810H (water, temperature, shock resistance) compliance. Interestingly, Sharp says you can use alcohol wipes and hand soap to clean the phone.
Anyway, the back is home to three cameras with Ducati Hector lenses. The main module has a 50.3MP sensor (1/1.55″) and an f/1.9 23mm lens (with OIS and EIS). Then there’s a 50.3MP (1/2.55″) ultra-wide camera with a 13mm 122° f/2.2 lens.
Sharp Aquos R11 has a 38.5MP telephoto camera (2.9x/68mm)
New this year is a 2.9x/68mm telephoto lens, which houses a 38.5MP sensor and an f/2.4 lens (with OIS and EIS). Additionally, there is a 14-channel spectral sensor. On the front, the selfie camera has another 50.3MP sensor and an f/2.2 23mm lens (with EIS).
Sharp Aquos R11 has 50+50+38MP rear and 50MP front cameras
The Sharp Aquos R11 is powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 – it replaces the same Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 as the R10. The 8s Gen 4 has higher clocks for the CPU cores and a more powerful GPU. There is also a large vapor chamber to aid cooling.
The phone is configured with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB UFS 4.1 storage. However, there is no microSD slot in this model. Out of the box, the R11 runs Android 16. Sharp has committed to 3 OS updates and 5 years of security patches.
Sharp Aquos R11 features VC-cooled Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 and 5,100mAh battery
The R11 has the largest battery of any Aquos phone ever! However, looking at the 5,100mAh capacity actually makes sense of that statement – it’s only a 100mAh upgrade from before. It has a 36W wired-only charging system that can complete it in about 90 minutes.
The good news is that the USB-C port is joined by USB 3.2 Gen 1 and DisplayPort 1.4 support. It also has Wi-Fi 7 (BE), Bluetooth 6.0 and dual-band GPS.
Let’s rewind again for a moment – pay attention to the bar light. Sharp calls it an “aquarium”. At its simplest, it’s an LED fill light and an LED notification light. However, it can also create animated effects for room ambiance – fireplace, water, rustling leaves, etc. And yes, these come with sound effects, which were supervised by sound designer Shinya Kiyokawa (unmute the video below).
The Sharp Aquos R11 will be available in early July from Sharp’s online store for JPY 163,900 ($1,025/€880/₹96,500). You will also be able to get it through DoCoMo and SoftBank. You can get it in terracotta, navy or ivory. By the way, you might have had it if you lived in Japan.
Sharp Aquos R11 in: Terracotta • Navy • Ivory