Created: 18 October 2016 · Last edited: 19 September 2026

A phone can have a small screen and still boast very high specs. A neat example is a new "mini" in the Winter 2016 / Sprint 2017 collection that SoftBank have named the AQUOS Xx3 miniAQUOS SERIE mini SHV38. Although announced in October 2016 by SoftBank and in mid-January 2017 by au, the phone only rolled out from the production lines in February 2017. Let's see what it's got.

It's got a great 4.7" new-generation IGZO display where the touch sensors are built-in with the pixels, allowing for a thinner screen, better response, including operation when wet and when wearing gloves, and reduced battery consumption. The display also features the blue-light reduction option. This is a Full HD display achieving a 469 ppi density.

Even more impressive is the 603SH/SHV38 rear camera: a 21-megapixel sensor with optical image stabilisation, capable of shooting in the dark thanks to Sharp's NightCatch II and aperture of f/1.9. It can also do Real-time HDR, has high-quality zoom with the "capture later" functionality introduced in earlier models (cut an image from a short 4K2K video clip).

The big improvement is now in the front-facing camera: an 8 MP wide-angle sensor that can now capture almost 100-degree shots, and is also equipped with NightCatch II, like the front camera – for those selfie-maniacs who must be able to take pictures of themselves in the dark. The selfie camera is also capable of performing user eye recognition.

This mini beast is powered by a 64-bit Snapdragon 617 (MSM8952 – 4 x 1.5 GHz and 4 x 1.2 GHz) processor, 3 GB of RAM, and 16 GB of onboard storage (expandable using microSDXC memory cards).

Familiar features include Sharp's AI Emopa that also has a health-care functionality and the Hikari Emotion LEDs.

The Xx3 mini/Serie mini is waterproof (IPX5/8) and dust-proof (IP6X).

The phone launches with Android 7.0, upgrades pending.

It supports LTE/3G/GSM frequencies (details below) and Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n/ac), Bluetooth 4.2, OneSeg digital TV.

The new mini Aquos measures 67 × 135 × 8.6 mm and weighs approx. 135 grams.