Aquos R9 Pro: Sharp presents innovative new smartphone with high-end camera hardware and 240 Hz OLED display
Sharp has expanded its smartphone series with the Aquos R9 Pro, which appears to be a higher-end alternative to the Aquos R9 for all intents and purposes. As such, Sharp has included upgrades in various areas, not least of which is the Aquos R9 Pro's chipset.
Specifically, Sharp has swapped the Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3 in the Aquos R9 for the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 that also powers the Razr Plus 2024 (curr. $799.99 on Amazon) and other recent Motorola smartphones. Moreover, Sharp complements this upper mid-range chipset with 12 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage and a 5,000 mAh battery. On top of that, the Aquos R9 Pro finds itself with a 6.7-inch and 'Pro IGZO OLED' branded display that outputs at 3,120 x 1,440 pixels with a 1-240 Hz variable refresh rate.
Meanwhile, Sharp furnishes the Aquos R9 Pro with a 50.3 MP primary camera with OIS likely based around the Sony LYT-900 on account of its 1/0.98-inch optical format. Furthermore, Sharp complements the 23 mm primary camera with a 50.3 MP telephoto sensor (1/1.56-inch) that has a 65 mm equivalent focal length, OIS and 2.8x optical zoom. Similarly, the device's ultra-wide-angle camera is another 50.3 MP sensor, albeit with a 1/2.5-inch optical format.
The Aquos R9 Pro comes with the promise of at least three major updates from Android 14 onwards, plus two additional years of security patch updates. As it stands, Sharp intends to sell the device for roughly JPY 190,000 (~$1,235) in Japan. Unfortunately, it seems likely that the Aquos R9 Pro will be exclusive to Japan and will only be available internationally through importers.
