Created: 18 August 2014 · Last edited: 16 September 2026

Behold! The world's first truly bezel-less phone (not counting the bottom bar), the AQUOS Crystal! The phone features a 5-inch "Crystal Display" that is cut at the edges for a frameless LCD panel.

But that's just about the only amazing thing about the AQUOS Crystal. The S-CG Silicon could have easily been Full HD instead of just HD. To power it, Sharp have decided to utilise a Qualcomm MSM8926 quad-core processor clocked at 1.2 GHz, which is decent but far from great, and the meagre 1.5 GB of RAM. If you thought they'd be more generous on built-in storage, think again: of the 8 GB ROM, the user-accessible storage space is just 3.87 GB. Luckily, it can be expanded using microSDXC cards of up to 128 GB — but the sample card included at the time of purchase was just 4 GB. Talk about cutting corners!.

The camera isn't impressive either: the main one is 8 megapixel but, admittedly, comes with the NightCatch II technology for taking quality pictures in dark environments, supports continuous shooting (by pressing and holding the shutter button), and the Framing Advisor that helps you shoot the best possible image. Additional software gimmicks like the "Search Finder" function that lets you search for a keyword, which can be recognised using the camera on printed text, or "Translation Finder" which will translate (into Japanese) any photographed text, are no compensation for the lack of image stabilisation.

The front-facing camera is 1.2 megapixels and doesn't even have autofocus.

OK, the Aquos Crystal is capable of playing quad HD videos (with this processor and RAM, hm...), and allows for zooming on a portion of the screen just like on a webpage or a still image.

Other functions include: easy screenshot by sliding your finger right from the display's top left edge; one-hand assist, which allows downsizing the active screen so that you can reach everywhere using one hand only; and a quick launcher, accessible from the menu shortcuts.

Right, here's one great feature: the Aquos Crystal flaunts a "Crystal Sound" function that relies on Harman Cardon sound processing technology to deliver unmatched immersive music experience when using headphones or Bluetooth connected speakers.

At the time of initial sale, the Aquos Crystal came with a Bluetooth speaker by Harman Cardon.

VoLTE (Voice over LTE or the so called HD Voice) is supported for high quality voice when talking on the phone.

To aid the voice clarify function is Direct Wave Receiver, something Sharp first implemented in two years ago but have not equipped many models with: the technology to transmit the incoming signal using vibration of the body, not using airwaves. This allows holding the phone as convenient, without worrying about the position of the earpiece, which is no fully eliminated.

Unfortunately, the Aquos Crystal is not water- or dust-proof. Also unavailable are Infrared, DLNA, Full or OneSeg TV, that are standard features of Japan-targeted Sharp smartphones. Bluetooth is ver. 4.0. Supported Wi-Fi standards include a / b / g / n.

The phone weighs 140 grams and measures 131 x 67 x 10 mm.

Sold from 29th August 2014 in both Japan and the USA (on Sprint), the Aquos Crystal is the first of two Sharp smartphones to see international release, also marking the completion of SoftBank's acquisition of US carrier Sprint.

In Japan, on SoftBank, the phone model is 305SH, whereas in the USA, on Sprint, Virgin Mobile, and Boost Mobile, the model is 306SH. The SoftBank version is SIM-locked as usual, no unlocking available*, but the US model can be officially unlocked after expiry of the contract.

The battery (built-in) is 2040 mAh and Sharp claim that the energy save function can make the phone last more than three days on a single charge.

Various topics discussed here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/aquos-crystal/general

[March 2016]

Although the 305SH 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 5500 Yen. But it is only done by sending the phone to the unlocker by mail.