Created: 8 May 2018 · Last edited: 21 September 2026

Alongside the high-end Aquos R2, Softbank also announces the next iteration of its smartphone targeted at elderly users, the Simple Sumaho 4. As the name suggests, this is a low-end simplified smartphone whose idea is to facilitate use rather than impress with cutting-edge specifications.

The Simple Sumaho 4 comes with a 5.0-inch IGZO display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 px (HD). The display features Sharp's "Clear View" technology, which makes text and maps easier to see outdoors. The battery capacity is 2800 mAh, and Sharp's power-saving technology is designed to provide long battery life.

The phone comes with easy on-screen settings to adjust brightness, contrast and colour saturation, making maps, photographs and text easier to see. The user interface is deliberately simple and clean, with large icons and large fonts.

Also featured are services such as "Rakutomo Link" for registering up to four frequently used contacts, "Triple Clearly Talk" for making conversations easier to hear in noisy places, and an "Emergency Buzzer". The latter can be activated quickly in an emergency, while the dedicated phone and mail buttons can also flash to indicate missed calls and new messages.

The device is also, expectedly, protected from water ingress (IPX5/IPX8), dust ingress (IP6X) and impact (MIL-STD-810G). The latter is not merely marketing fluff: Softbank specifies a drop test from 1.22 metres onto plywood in 26 directions under MIL-STD-810G Method 516.7. Naturally, that does not mean the phone is indestructible.

The Simple Sumaho 4 has a 13.1-megapixel rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera. A dedicated camera shutter button is provided, allowing the user to half-press it to focus just like on a conventional digital camera.

It has three dedicated hardware buttons to launch voice search, phone and mail, as well as a separate hardware button to return to the home screen.

It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor having four cores clocked at 1.4 GHz and four at 1.1 GHz. The amount of RAM is 3 GB and the built-in memory is 32 GB, which can be expanded using microSDXC cards of up to 400 GB.

Supported radio frequencies include:

• TD-LTE: 2500 (B41) MHz
• AXGP (TD-LTE): 2500 (B41) MHz
• FDD-LTE: 1700 (B3), 900 (B8) MHz
• W-CDMA: 2100 (I) / 1900 (II) / 1700 (IV) / 900 (VIII) MHz
• GSM: 1900 / 1800 / 900 MHz

Further connectivity options include Bluetooth 4.2 and Wi-Fi (b/g/n at 2.4 GHz). One-Seg digital TV is also featured.

The Simple Sumaho 4 runs Android 8.0 Oreo and comes in Champagne Silver, Navy and Pink. It goes on sale through Softbank on 20 July 2018.