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image.

These two short words constitute the most serious factor in the internal circulation of the entire mobile phone industry today.

It could be because manufacturers can’t think of any configuration that can bring significant improvements, or it could be because consumers’ demand for mobile phone photography and video recording is constantly increasing.In short, looking at the entire mobile phone market, except for cost-effective mid-range mobile phones that only focus on performance, there is almost no product that does not boast about its imaging capabilities on the details page.

Hey, stop complaining, I have evidence for this.

Take this year's new products for example. The realme 12 Pro has started a new strategy of "a thousand-yuan phone can also have periscope", adding a 64MP periscope telephoto camera to a phone that costs less than two thousand yuan, which has greatly increased the average imaging capability of the phone industry. Not to mention competing in the same price range, it can even compete with many flagship phones of previous years.

As for the "AI mobile phone" concept that various companies have launched this year, at least 50% of the functions currently implemented are related to AI imaging, not to mention AI beauty, AI elimination, and AI cutout. The imaging flagships of several manufacturers have even been equipped with AISP and AI telephoto functions that can be used during shooting.

If someone asked Xiao Lei what he thought of this phenomenon.

Then I would definitely say - don’t stop, increase your efforts.

If Xiao Lei were to say, a mobile phone with a good camera can definitely greatly increase your desire to record your daily life.

Like now, when Xiao Lei goes out to play with his friends, no one wants to carry a heavy camera. If the mobile phone can take enough pictures and is portable, then why not do it?

pity……

The unfortunate thing is that for imaging flagship products, which are the oversized cups agreed upon by all manufacturers, the price will definitely not go down.

Not to mention the new products released this year, you have to know that the Xiaomi 12s ultra released two years ago is still priced at more than 3,000 to 4,000 on JD.com today. You will understand why I say that this kind of product really has nothing to do with us low-end users.

What’s interesting is that in the past three years, the main camera sensor of the imaging flagship has not changed. Sony IMX989, or the Lytia900 after a change of skin, is the only choice for the imaging flagship. Even next year, the Pro models of various manufacturers will suck this main camera back.

This is not what I said, it was said by Digital Chat Station.

(Photo source: Weibo)

In a sense, having the IMX989 main camera is a sufficient but not necessary condition to become an imaging flagship.

So, among the mobile phones that have both IMX989 sensors and co-branded imaging products with well-known brands, are there any cheap ones?

Oh, it really exists.

All in all, this is the foreign flagship phone - Sharp Aquos R7 - that I bought from Xianyu for 900 yuan after some ideological struggle.

(Image source: Sharp)

Not only was this product known as the first mobile phone to use a new one-inch sensor at the time, it also had a Leica co-branded design. It can be said that the second generation of Leica mobile phone was customized based on this product. In theory, it should be a very powerful mobile phone.

As for how it works, just keep watching with me.

First release of IMX989, but the image quality is mediocre?

Although most domestic consumers are not aware of this, Sharp mobile phones have always been obsessed with imaging.

In November 2000, Sharp released the world's first consumer mobile phone equipped with a camera, the J-SH04The phone was equipped with a 11-megapixel rear camera. Although the resolution was low, it opened the era of consumer mobile phone photography.

(Image source: Sharp)

Three years later, continuing the brand concept of Sharp Sha-Mail camera phone, Sharp launched the world's first megapixel camera phone J-SH53, which is equipped with a 1-megapixel CCD sensor and can capture images of up to 1144*858 pixels.

Over time, Sharp launched the world's first V602SH that supports optical zoom and the first SH-01B that uses a 10-million-pixel sensor, intending to consolidate its performance in imaging capabilities, but was dragged down by the gradual decline of Japanese mobile phones.

It wasn't until the release of Sharp Aquos R7 that they regained the reputation of being the first to launch a new one-inch sensor.

(Image source: Sharp)

That’s right, the Aquos R7 uses the latest and most mainstream flagship one-inch main camera sensor at the time.Sony IMX989 sensorIt adopts a Quad-Bayer pixel array, with a single pixel of 1.6μm and 3.2μm when four-in-one pixels are merged. It supports Quad-PD phase focus, which is indeed much stronger than the 20MP sensor used in the previous generation, which is suspected to be the same model as the black card.

Oh, and it’s Leica certified.

Some people may ask, didn’t Xiaomi also say that its Xiaomi 12S Ultra was the first to launch the IMX989 sensor? Who of the two manufacturers lied?

Well, in terms of time, Sharp Aquos R7 was released in May 2022, which is definitely earlier than Xiaomi 12S Ultra.

(Image source: Xiaomi)

However, the phone will not be available on Japanese operators until the second half of 2022., and the official marks it as a 47MP main camera, so it is likely that this one-inch sensor is not fully utilized, which is similar to the operation on Sony Xperia Pro-I.

Although a one-inch sensor is used, it cannot be fully utilized due to the size limitation of the module.

All I can say is, you have your starting lineup and I have my starting lineup.

In addition to this main camera, the Sharp Aquos R7 only has a 12MP front-facing selfie camera. Note that the smaller lens on the left side of the main camera is just a 1.9MP depth sensor and cannot be considered a real camera.

(Image source: Xiaomi)

It's highly unusual for a flagship to omit a secondary lens for ultra-wide-angle or zoom photography, but as Sharp wants to emphasize, this is an unconventional flagship, and they want to prove that a good main camera can achieve the effect of Less Is More.

The question is, can this machine do that?

Let’s first take a look at the camera interface. The UI design is in the style of Google Camera. Sharp’s own various composition reference lines are not absent in this generation. The RAW format is still supported, and the manual mode has added AF focus and peak focus, but the photo watermark is still not found.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

As usual, because the default focal length of this lens is 19mm, the default photo-taking interface of Sharp Aquos R7 also starts from 0.7x. You can also set it to 1x to start shooting, and the maximum digital zoom can be 6x.

As for the actual finished product...

When there is sufficient light during the day and the shooting goes well, the shooting effect of Sharp Aquos R7 can probably reach the level of Xiaomi 14. The reasonable HDR effect, contrasting photos and thicker shadows create a Leica-like feeling.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

However, Sharp's cameras occasionally make mistakes with white balance, which results in a washed-out color presentation in photos that is relatively unpleasant to the eye.

In night environments, the performance of Sharp Aquos R7 is a bit average. It is difficult to get a relatively clear photo in extremely dark environments. Even if it is occasionally artificially enhanced through night mode, the result is that the colors are too warm and look unnatural.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

As for the telephoto aspect, Xiaomi Mi 14 itself only has a 50MP JN1 upright telephoto lens, and Sharp is definitely no match for it in the range of 3.2x and above.

But even after turning on the 47MP full-open high-pixel mode and at 2x digital zoom, the details captured by the IMX989 of Sharp Aquos R7 are still not as good as those captured by the OV50H of Xiaomi 14. It can only be said that Sharp's camera imaging algorithm is really humorous compared with domestic manufacturers.

(2X sample, Sharp in front, Xiaomi in the back)

(3.2X sample, Sharp in front, Xiaomi in the back)

As for the focus and shooting speed, it can only be said that it is slightly better than the previous generation of products, but obviously slower than domestic mobile phones.

But no matter what, this is the cheapest imaging flagship on the market. It is still a good deal to be able to buy a decent one-inch camera at this price.

If the user takes the time to make manual adjustments and then makes later repairs based on the completed film, I believe the qualities of the IMX989 can still be presented. But if you really want to take error-free or even stylized photos, the Sharp Aquos R7 is obviously not the right choice.

Looks very square, very un-Aquos

Next, let’s talk about design.

I have used many Sharp models, and I can say that until the Sharp Aquos R6, their ideas were very consistent - that is, a kind of obsession with rounded bodies.

But on the Sharp Aquos R7, this roundness turns into an unusual sharpness.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

The wide and flat aluminum right-angle middle frame connects the front and back glass through two cut edges close to 135°. Although the two sides are curved, the connection between the front, middle and back parts is almost non-existent. The top cover and bottom frame of the machine in my hand have obvious cut feelings, which also brings a less than ideal grip experience.

As for the screen, this 6.6-inch, 2,730x1,260 OLED panel uses Sharp's own IGZO technology, which means lower power consumption and a theoretical maximum refresh rate of 240Hz.

To put the numbers in perspective, this is twice as much as all the Android flagships currently on the market.

The screen does look great, the system animation is very fast and smooth, the maximum brightness is 2000nit, native 10bit, Dolby Vision, the performance on Netflix and Youtube HDR is amazing, and there is no pseudo-HDR problem that will appear on domestic mobile phones.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

Of course, Sharp's 240Hz is achieved by inserting black frames, which means that high refresh rates must endure the ghosting caused by black frame insertion.

Not only that, although IGZO material has the advantages of high refresh rate and low power consumption, it also has common problems such as white spots and broken touch. The screen of the machine in my hand had certain light spots when I first bought it, and there was flooding around the screen in dark mode. After being put aside for half a month, this problem no longer exists. This can be regarded as the metaphysical path that foreign garbage must go through.

Turning to the back, the rear camera of Sharp Aquos R7 adopts concentric circle design, but it is much smaller than domestic imaging flagships. Although it has no special features, it can be said to beat all kinds of iPhone-like, rectangular and various weird geometric shapes in China. It also feels more like a camera when placed horizontally.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

The fingerprint is still the same as before, with 3D ultrasonic fingerprint recognition from Qualcomm, true wide-area ultrasonic, which can record and unlock in seconds. It also supports fingerprint entry for both hands, and it doesn't matter what's on your hands. It's something that makes unlocking the phone a pleasure.

By the way, it even has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a TF card slot.

Enjoy future technology in advance. Do you like it?

Game performance, very exciting

Finally, configuration.

As a product released in the first half of 2022, the Sharp Aquos R7 naturally used the popular flagship chip of that year. It achieved an "amazing" high score of 1.03 million points in AnTuTu.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

In comparison, the iQOO 12 Pro equipped with Snapdragon 888 can run 1.02 million points, and the temperature is much lower, which somewhat subverts my cognition.

We will keep things simple for games and directly launch "League of Legends Mobile" and "Genshin Impact".

In actual tests, under high image quality and 90 frames, Sharp Aquos R7 ran an average frame rate of about 85.69 frames in "League of Legends Mobile Game". Weird frame drops would occur repeatedly in the actual game. The temperature of the whole machine was okay, but the heat would cause touch failure, which was very annoying.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

As for "Genshin Impact", it will overheat and crash in 5 minutes without a radiator.

After using the radiator, the Sharp Aquos R7 ran an average frame rate of about 45.57 frames in "Genshin Impact" under medium picture quality and 45 frames. After adding the radiator, the temperature of the whole machine is okay, but it really has no reference value.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

All I can say is that even in an indoor room at around 24°C, the Sharp Aquos R7 still finds it difficult to give the performance that an old flagship should have.

In addition, Leitz Phone 1 also has many good core configurations, such as NFC, IP68 dust and water resistance, 5000mAh large battery and wireless charging function.

However, for Chinese people, if they want to use this product as a daily machine, there are still two hurdles to overcome.

First is the systemSharp Aquos R7 uses a Google-like native system. Except for some additional functions of its own, almost nothing has been changed. A model with only Google services and no Push function is extremely uncomfortable to use in the domestic environment.

Secondly, although the Sharp Aquos R7 supports 5G networks, it does not support domestic 5G frequency bands., so everyone can only use 4G LTE network. For users who pursue mobile Internet speed, it may not be enough, and the lack of 5G signal is also a big problem.

Summary: A playable imaging flagship

In my opinion, the Sharp Aquos R7 is an interesting phone.

The tough body design coincides with the changes in the public aesthetic in China in the past two years; the 1-inch sensor, combined with LEICA's Summicron lens, also provides professional users with a higher mobile imaging ceiling; as for the screen with excellent display effects, it is even more of a magic weapon for moviegoers.

(Image source: Lei Technology)

However, compared with domestic mobile phones, Sharp Aquos R7 is still a very niche mobile phone, and its native-like system is not suitable for the domestic application environment; even if we don’t mention the 5G network, the old processor is combined with the high-energy optimization unique to Japanese systems, which makes it very hot to use in summer.

Of course, the most important thing is that for mobile imaging, algorithms are always more important than hardware.

On this basis, it can be said that the Sharp Aquos R series will never and will no longer be able to compete with domestic imaging flagships.

But to Sharp, that may not matter.

As mentioned before, Sharp does not seem to care about selling its mobile phones outside of Japan, nor does it care much about the specific sales of its mobile phone categories. Considering that the Sharp Aquos R9 released this year has become a mid-range phone with a unique design, Japanese imaging flagships like the R7/R8 that focus on imaging may become extinct.

If you like quirky, unique gadgets, the Sharp Aquos R7, which currently costs less than $1,000, is quite interesting.

But as a main machine?

Sorry, I still think the Xiaomi 14 I have is better.

In the first half of 2024, the technology circle is surging.
Big models are being put into practice at an accelerated pace, with AI applications emerging in an endless stream, including AI mobile phones, AI PCs, AI home appliances, AI search, and AI e-commerce.
Vision Pro is now available in China, setting off a new wave of XR spatial computing;
HarmonyOS NEXT is officially released, and the mobile OS ecosystem has changed;
Automobiles have fully entered the "second half", and intelligence has become a top priority;
Competition in e-commerce is increasingly fierce, with low prices and even lower services;
The wave of going overseas is surging, and Chinese brands are embarking on the journey of globalization;

In the hottest month of July, Lei Technology's mid-year review is launched, summarizing the brands, technologies and products worth recording in the first half of 2024 in the technology industry, recording the past and looking forward to the future. Please pay attention.