Created: 14 May 2014 · Last edited: 16 September 2026
The Summer 2014 collection has now been fully announced, starting with SoftBank, then au, and finally, DoCoMo. Sharp's flagship phone occupies a prominent place in it and each carrier has added their own series designation to its name, as they usually do. Sharp, however, have decided to stop branding their phones "AQUOS Phone", switching instead to just "AQUOS". And, so, we get:
- AQUOS Xx 304SH
- AQUOS Serie SHL25
- AQUOS Zeta SH-04F
We will treat the AQUOS Zeta SH-04F as a separate model, however, because it comes with a 5.4" display, while the 304SH and the SHL25 come with a 5.2" display.
They look like one truly superb gadget.
This AQUOS, ahem... phone, is of the EDGEST series – having a very thin bezel and allowing the display to occupy 78% of the phone's surface. The 5.2-inch display has a Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) resolution, is built using the IGZO technology, but now Sharp have added PureLED display backlight technology – to not only deliver more vivid colours and deeper contrast but also ensure reduced power consumption. Indeed, when SoftBank first announced their version of it, they advertised the 304SH as being capable to run three full days with one charge of the 2600 mAh battery in standard use.
Unlike all Sharp smartphones of the past, the new AQUOS EDGEST finally come with an aluminium frame (but the back panel is still plastic).
One clever new function we find on it is the "with one hand" quick launcher feature, where, tapping the dedicated button located in the bottom right corner, the screen is "compacted" to enable one-hand operation. The "reduced screen" contains links to frequently visited apps and functions, history and favourites.
The camera is a 13.1-megapixel shooter that features the new generation NightCatch II flash and BrightEye f/1.9 aperture technology for shooting in the dark, real-time HDR that automatically adjusts the sensor to the backlight level. The camera also features burst mode for up to 999 consecutive shots in full resolution, and framing advisor to help correctly frame the photo, as well as omnidirectional shooting (Photosphere). It can record 4K2K videos! Unfortunately, the camera doesn't support optical image stabilisation – it only features software image stabilisation (shake correction) and only for still images.
The front-facing camera is still the humble 2.1 megapixels but now has enhanced zoom functionality called "beauty zoom".
The Aquos 304SH / SHL25 has Full-Seg support for terrestrial digital television for viewing, recording and broadcasting. The phone has DTS Surround Sound technology for immersive hearing experience. The built-in Video Player app supports playback of 4K2K resolution video with the option to zoom to a chosen segment of the screen image.
This device is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm MSM8974AB processor humming at 2.3 GHz, the amount of RAM is 2 GB, and the onboard storage (ROM) is 32 GB. This can be expanded using microSDXC cards of up to 128 GB.
The pre-installed OS is Android 4.4. Only the SHL25 got an upgrade to Android 5 – no Lollipop for Softbank's 304SH.
[March 2016]
Although this phone was released before the new SIM unlock policy went into effect, the phone can apparently be unlocked. Some sellers on Yahoo Auctions Japan offer the unlocking service for 5000 Yen. But it is only done by sending the phone to the unlocked by mail.
[November 2016]
The SIM unlocking service for this and other models now costs 8000 Yen but does not require shipping the phone, it's done online.
Specifications
- Display: 5.2 inches, 1920 × 1080 px — IGZO LCD
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 (MSM8974AB) — 4 × 2.3 GHz
- Rear camera:
- 13.1 MP CMOS, AF, SR, HDR, f/1.9
- 2160p @ 30 fps
- Front-facing camera:
- 2.1 MP CMOS
- unknown
- Operating system: Android
- OS version at launch: 4.4.2
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AQUOS
Xx
304SH
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX7
- Dustproofing: None
- Operating memory (RAM): 2 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 32 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 128 GB
The Aquos Xx 304SH weighs 137 grams and measures 72 x 135 x 9 mm. It is available in Precious Gold, White, Black and Red.
Of the three Summer 2014 flagships by Sharp, this one has the smallest 78% screen/front ratio.
It also has the smallest battery capacity: 2600 mAh.
The Aquos Xx 304SH supports the following radio frequencies: W-CDMA system (900 MHz/2.1 GHz), GSM system (900/1800/1900 MHz), FDD-LTE system (900 MHz/1.7 GHz/2.1 GHz).
AQUOS
Serie
SHL25
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX7
- Dustproofing: None
- Operating memory (RAM): 2 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 32 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 128 GB
- The OS received an upgrade to version 5.0.2 on 10 December 2015.
au were the second to announce their AQUOS smartphone in the Summer 2014 collection but the last to launch it, some 21 days after its rivals — the three-week delay can't have helped sales.
As usual for the EDGEST series, the SHL25 now achieves 80% screen area of the device's surface (vs. 78% on the 304SH), beaten only marginally by Docomo's SH-04F and its 81%.
The SHL25 supports WiMAX 2+ at 2500 MHz, as well as LTE at 700/800/1800/2100 MHz, W-CDMA at 850/1900/2100 MHz and GSM at 850/900/1800/1900 MHz for overseas use.
The battery capacity has been slightly extended in comparison with the preceding model (SHL23), which has 3000 mAh, to 3150 mAh, which should be able to guarantee the advertised 3-days-with-one-charge battery life. The extended battery explains the 141 grams weight – compared to SoftBank's Aquos Xx 304SH, which weighs 137 grams but has a 2600 mAh battery.
The Aquos Series SHL25 weighs 141 grams and measures 71 × 134 × 9.9 mm, and is, naturally, waterproof (but not dust-proof). It is offered in white, pink, and navy.