Sharp Aquos S2 is the bastard child of all those phones you're waiting for
Sharp has a new phone out ... and it reminds us of every other phone that's coming out this year.
The Sharp's new Aquos S2 follows all the latest smartphone trends: large screen with minimal bezels, dual camera on the back. But even though Sharp has been in the tiny bezels game longer than anyone, the design feels oddly derivative.
More precisely, the Sharp Aquos S2 somehow manages to look like a ripoff of every other significant phone out there, including Andy Rubin's Essential Phone, the rumored iPhone 8, and the Samsung Galaxy Note series.
The Aquos S2 has a screen that stretches almost across its entire face, with just a notch carved out on top for the selfie camera, making it quite similar to the Essential Phone. The bottom bezel is larger, though, and it's reserved for the elongated home button, a la Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
And on the back, the vertical dual camera is a dead ringer for the iPhone 8, if you believe all the recent rumors and leaks.
Even the rounded corners on top of the Aquos S2 screen remind me of the LG G6, but since they're not really rounded, the effect isn't very aesthetically pleasing.
As far as specs go, the screen is a 5.5-inch display with a 2,040 x 1,080 resolution. The processor is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 or 630, coupled with 4/6GB of RAM, 64/128GB of memory, 12-/8-megapixel cameras on the back, an 8-megapixel selfie cam on the front, and a 3,030mAh battery.
The cheaper model costs about $370, while the more powerful variant, which is coming later this year, will cost $520.
None of this will matter much to customers out of Asia, as China is currently the only market where the Aquos S2 is available and it's unlikely to go global. But it's one more reminder that the future of smartphones has tiny bezels, oddly shaped screens, and dual cameras.
Stan is a Senior Editor at Mashable, where he has worked since 2007. He's got more battery-powered gadgets and band t-shirts than you. He writes about the next groundbreaking thing. Typically, this is a phone, a coin, or a car. His ultimate goal is to know something about everything.
