Sharp Aquos S2 hands-on review

Introduction

It's not often we have a Sharp device with us for review. Primarily sold in East Asian markets, these devices are hard to come by elsewhere. So, when Sharp contacted us to review their mostly new Aquos S2, we couldn't really say no.

The Aquos S2 is a mid-range device in Sharp's lineup. The standout feature for it is the edge-to-edge display that Sharp was the first to bring to market with the Aquos Crystal three years ago. Apart from that the phone comes reasonably equipped, complete with a dual rear camera, making it keep up comfortably with all the 2017 trends.

Sharp Aquos S2 Key Features

• Design: Aluminum frame, plastic back
• Display: 5.5-inch, 2040x1080 IPS LCD
• Rear Camera: 12MP, f1.8, dual pixel PDAF, 8MP depth sensor, LED flash, 4K 30fps video
• Front Camera: 8MP, f2.0, 1080p 30fps video
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 630, octa-core CPU (2.2GHz Cortex-A53 + 1.8GHz Cortex-A53), Adreno 508 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 660, octa-core CPU (2.2GHz Kryo 260 + 1.84GHz Kryo 260), Adreno 512 GPU
• Memory: 4GB RAM, 64GB storage (Snapdragon 630); 6GB RAM, 128GB storage (Snapdragon 660), microSD expansion
• OS: Android 7.1.1 with Smile UX
• Battery: 3020mAh
• Connectivity: Dual SIM, LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, Bluetooth 4.2, A-GPS, USB-C
• Misc: Fingerprint sensor

Main shortcomings

• Hybrid DualSIM/microSD slot limits options
• No headphone jack

The Aquos S2 is very clearly a mid-range device, down to the Snapdragon 600 series processors and a second rear camera that is only really a depth sensor for the background blur effect and nothing particularly fancy. Even the choice of materials is a mixture of metal on the sides and plastic on the back. This isn't the device you impress your friends with.

Sharp Aquos S2 press shots

Still, we were curious to see how this device performed and especially check out that Smile UX that Sharp has going on in there. So here's what we found.