Can the Marriage of Sharp AQUOS R9 pro and Leica Reforge the Glory of Japanese Phones?

Can the Marriage of Sharp AQUOS R9 pro and Leica Reforge the Glory of Japanese Phones?Does your phone have a collaboration with a photography brand? Nowadays, smartphone manufacturers collaborating with camera giants or photography studios for their imaging capabilities has become a common phenomenon. Xiaomi Leica, OnePlus Hasselblad, OPPO Hasselblad, vivo Zeiss, and even Honor, which once claimed that collaboration had limited improvement, have been heavily promoting "artistic portraiture" this year

Can the Marriage of Sharp AQUOS R9 pro and Leica Reforge the Glory of Japanese Phones?

Does your phone have a collaboration with a photography brand? Nowadays, smartphone manufacturers collaborating with camera giants or photography studios for their imaging capabilities has become a common phenomenon. Xiaomi Leica, OnePlus Hasselblad, OPPO Hasselblad, vivo Zeiss, and even Honor, which once claimed that collaboration had limited improvement, have been heavily promoting "artistic portraiture" this year. However, what are the actual effects behind these collaborations? Do they truly enhance the imaging capabilities of phones?

Although rumors suggest that various manufacturers are secretly preparing their own photography brands, judging from the newly released flagship products, using these established camera brands, boasting multi-million dollar investments and rich cultural heritage, as a guarantee for their imaging capabilities remains the industry's mainstream approach.

Of course, these collaborations are ultimately just collaborations. Even if the Leica CEO participates in the launch event, the Xiaomi 15 series ultimately remains Xiaomi's flagship product. Promoting professional Hasselblad portraits cannot change OnePlus' mediocre image algorithms. And specialized Zeiss coating cannot fix the controversies surrounding the vivo X200 series.

At this point, some might ask, why are these camera giants engaging in collaborations? Wouldn't launching their own products be more profitable? I don't know what Leica is thinking, but they have indeed done so. Since 2021, Leica has released a "true Leica phone" every year, meaning the entire device lacks any other brand logo, with only the LEICA inscription and the little red dot on the back. They have already released three generations.

Not only that, the "foundation" for the fourth generation has also been released. Recently, Japanese manufacturer Sharp held its 2024 Autumn/Winter AQUOS new product launch event, officially unveiling two new series - the Sharp AQUOS sense9, focused on the mid-range entry-level market, and the Sharp AQUOS R9 pro, emphasizing flagship imaging capabilities. The devices are expected to debut in Japan in early December. Well, it seems the new true Leica flagship - the LeitzPhone 4, is not far off. Each LeitzPhone generation has been based on the Sharp aquos R series.

The Fourth Generation Leica Phone, Imaging on a Grand Scale

As a staunch "tech enthusiast," I have always maintained a high level of interest in Sharp's devices. For example, the Sharp AQUOS R9 from earlier this year was a very intriguing product. Designed by "miyakedesign" (founded by Issey Miyake), its lens module featured a free-form and irregular design, standing out amidst the current monotonous large circular design trends, looking quite elegant and unique. However, the current price on Xianyu (a secondhand marketplace) is still over 4000 yuan, making it quite inaccessible.

Who would have thought, just a few months later, the Sharp AQUOS R9 pro completely abandoned that interesting design, reverting to the ubiquitous large circular design.

Well... let's not dwell on whether this large circular module with a silver decorative ring resembles the imaging flagship of a certain company that collaborated with Zeiss. Just looking at the product promotional image evokes a strange sense of familiarity.

It's a bit hard to stomach.

The good news is that with the largest module design ever, the Sharp AQUOS R9 pro has upgraded its imaging configuration to the level expected of a flagship. Those who have read my reviews of LeitzPhone/LeitzPhone 2 (search for "Lei Technology" online) should remember the image configurations of those two products. Yes, previous LeitzPhone generations have all used single-lens designs, with only a single one-inch main camera on the entire device. All photos across different focal lengths are output using this single camera, with at most some software algorithms for enhancement. However, the results are only mediocre at best. From another perspective, it's purely a fixed-focal point compact camera.

This time, Sharp AQUOS R9 pro truly achieves multi-focal length coverage expected from a flagship, and each camera performs reasonably well. The Sharp AQUOS R9 pro features a Leica Vario-Summicron triple camera system, each camera boasting 50.3 million pixels. The main camera is 1/0.98" F1.8, equivalent to 23mm, the periscope telephoto lens is 1/1.56", 2.8x equivalent to 65mm, and the ultrawide lens is 1/2.5", equivalent to 13mm.

While the official specifications don't mention the sensor model, based on the specific parameters, the main camera is likely the LYT-900/IMX989, the periscope telephoto should be similar to IMX890/IMX766, and the ultrawide lens is highly likely to be the IMX858 from the Honor Magic 4 Pro.

How can I describe it? This configuration is truly outlandish. For example, let's look at standard domestic flagships. The OPPO Find X8 features a triple camera system with a 50MP Sony LYT-7001/1.56" main camera + 50MP Sony LYT-6001/2" periscope telephoto + 50MP Samsung JN51/2.76" ultrawide. Compared to the Sharp Aquos R9 pro, there is indeed a difference. In fact, even within the Chinese market, there are probably not many Pro version flagships released this year that can match this configuration. Remember, the vivo X200 Pro uses a triple camera system with a 50MP Sony LYT-8181/1.28" main camera + 200MP Samsung HP91/1.4" periscope telephoto + 50MP Samsung JN11/2.76" ultrawide.

Well, if you compare them, they are quite evenly matched.

Standard Configuration, Standing Out Among Japanese Flagships

And don't forget, the front of the device is not adorned with any fancy features, opting for the standard answer - a pure straight screen.

This 6.7-inch IGZOOLED high refresh rate screen supports 2K resolution and can achieve a 240Hz refresh rate through interpolation, which is a traditional strength of Sharp. Overall, the screen display quality is definitely better than 1.5K screens. As for fingerprint recognition? Do you understand the value of being one of only two phones globally to still use ultrasonic wide-area fingerprint recognition? The unlocking efficiency is something that short-range sensors can't match.

Reading this, I actually feel a little dazed. The Japanese phone market is known for its collective decline. I wouldn't say there are many Android flagship options, but there are actually people who believe the Google Pixel series, with its significantly outdated configuration, is quite usable. It's truly magical.

Among this group of products, the Sharp Aquos R9 pro stands out as a beacon. Flagship-level image configuration, flagship-level screen quality, and ultrasonic wide-area fingerprint recognition, which not even flagships always have... could this be the script of "reforging the glory of Japanese phones, it is our duty"?

Oh, you're thinking too much.

Why do I say that? Just look at the core configuration of this phone. That's right, as of late October 2024, the Sharp Aquos R9 pro doesn't use Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Forged Edition, nor Dimensity 9400, not even the previous generation flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 or Dimensity 9300. It uses - Snapdragon 8s Gen 3.

That's right, the "sub-flagship processor" released by Qualcomm in the middle of this year, subsequently adopted by Xiaomi Civi 4 Pro, iQOO Z9 Turbo, Realme GT Neo6, and Redmi Turbo 3, with the new lowest price reaching 1300 yuan.

Is it a bad processor? Of course not. With an AnTuTu score of over 150W, it possesses almost the same CPU performance as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and surpasses the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 in GPU performance. It is definitely a high-performance chip with great value for money. But it should never appear on a top-of-the-line flagship.

As for fast charging and battery capacity...

The Sharp Aquos R9 pro at least bumped the battery to 5000mAh, but they haven't mentioned the charging power, likely no more than 30W. Well, it's back to the familiar taste of Japanese flagships.

Will the Fourth Generation Leica Phone Go Head-to-Head with the Xiaomi 14U?

Undeniably, Sharp must have put a lot of effort into compiling the features for the newly released AQUOS R9 pro. Don't believe me? Just look at the single-lens module that hasn't changed in the previous three generations.

The question is, why has Sharp suddenly changed its mind after three generations of indifference? In my opinion, it's mainly because the Japanese operator market has been deeply entrenched in the past. Even without any changes