AQUOS sense3 lite / sense3 basic / sense3
Rakuten Mobile, SoftBank, docomo, au, SIM-free, Y!mobile
Created: 26 September 2019 · Last edited: 23 September 2026
The third iteration of Sharp's mid-range smartphone series dubbed AQUOS sense3 (yes, the number is affixed to the word, they like to do that, e.g. Xx3, R2) has now been announced as part of the Winter 2019/Sprint 2020 collection. And all Japanese carriers are selling it, some in more than one version, including a lite, a basic, the standard, a plus, and even a plus sound variant.
Actually, there are two separate models in the sense3 family: the smaller one includes the "lite", "basic", and no-suffix versions, while the bigger includes the "plus" and the "plus sound" versions.
Read below about the smaller variant.
The AQUOS sense3 lite, AQUOS sense3 basic, AQUOS sense3 comes with the impressive promise of "1 week battery life", which is possible thanks to the huge battery savings only an IGZO display can offer.
Being mid-range, however, it's not getting the latest Pro IGZO 5th Generation display like the R3 flagship but a 4th Gen one.
The display on the AQUOS sense3 measures 5.5 inches diagonally and has a resolution of 2160 x 1080 pixels (18:9).
It is powered by the Snapdragon 630 processor, which is said to bring some 15% boost in CPU performance and 60% in graphics processing in comparison with the Snapdragon 450 found on last year's AQUOS sense2.
The amount of available RAM varies between 3 and 4 GB, while the built-in storage space varies between 32 and 64 GB. microSDXC storage cards are supported to increase available storage by up to 512 GB.
sense3 lite / sense3 basic
The "lite" and the "basic" variants have one 12-megapixel rear camera, which now uses a large-pixels sensor and is advertised as performing great in low-light conditions – with aperture size f/2.0, it should be decent. It's also a wide-angle (83°) sensor equipped with electronic image stabilisation.
sense3
The standard sense3 variant adds a secondary rear camera, which is a novelty for a mid-range model: it also has a 12-megapixel sensor but this one is extra-wide angle (121° focal length). Its aperture is less low-light-sensitive (f/2.4), it also employs EIS (still images only), has the subject blur correct feature and the AI live story feature.
The selfie camera is 8 MP, f/2.2, wide-angle (86°).
The phone supports the now pretty standard face authentication and fingerprint authentication methods (except the "basic" 907SH by SoftBank).
Like all other Sharp phones, the AQUOS sense3 is equipped with a dedicated 3.5-mm audio jack and is capable of playing high-resolution audio in WAV and FLAC formats. This terminal supports Qualcomm® aptX ™ audio / Qualcomm® aptX ™ HD audio.
The Aquos sense3 measures 70 x 147 x 8.9 mm (W x L x D) and weighs 166 grams which makes it one hefty piece of phone.
It is of course both waterproof (IPX5/8) and dust-proof (IP6X). But not only: it is also shock-resistant (MIL-STD-810H).
Location positioning: the Aquos sesnse3 lite is compatible with GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS (MICHIBIKI).
The colour variations for the Aquos sense3 SH-RM12 are: light copper, silver white, and black.
On 10 June 2021, the final major upgrade for this phone rolled out – to Android 11.
Specifications
- Display: 5.5 inches, 2160 × 1080 px — IGZO LCD
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 (SDM630) — 4 × 2.2 GHz + 4 × 1.8 GHz
- Rear camera:
- 12 MP CMOS, AF, EIS, HDR, f/2.0, 83° wide-angle (+ 12 MP CMOS, AF, EIS, HDR, f/2.4, 121° ultra-wide-angle)
- 2160p @ 30 fps
- Front-facing camera:
- 8 MP CMOS, AF, 86° wide-angle, f/2.2
- 1080p @ 30 fps
- Battery: 4000 mAh (non-removable)
- Operating system: Android
- OS version at launch: 9.0
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AQUOS
sense3 lite
SH-RM12
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX8
- Dustproofing: IP6X
- Shock-resistance: MIL-STD-810H
- Operating memory (RAM): 4 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 64 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 512 GB
- The OS received an upgrade to version 10 on 30 June 2020.
- The OS received an upgrade to version 11 on 10 June 2021.
Japanese virtual mobile operator Rakuten is the first to introduce the new mid-range phone of the Aquos sense line: Aquos sense3 lite, SH-RM12.
The "lite" is available in Light Copper, Silver White, or Black.
AQUOS
sense3 basic
907SH
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX8
- Dustproofing: IP6X
- Shock-resistance: MIL-STD-810H
- Operating memory (RAM): 3 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 32 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 400 GB
- The OS received an upgrade to version 10 on 3 August 2020.
- The OS received an upgrade to version 11 on 15 June 2021.
SoftBank is releasing the "basic" version of the AQUOS sense3, which is the most stripped down of the three available. This is actually advertised as a corporate version and is scheduled to reach the shops in mid-November 2019 and is code-named 907SH.
Unlike the Rakuten "lite" version, however, which has 4 GB of RAM, the SoftBank "basic" only has 3 GB. The built-in storage space stays the same as in last year's AQUOS sense2 – just 32 GB (the Rakuten version has 64 GB).
The phone only supports face authentication (no fingerprint).
Supported radio frequencies include:
- LTE (FDD): 2100 (B1) / 1800 (B3) / 900 (B8) / 850 (B5) / 800 (B18 / B19) / 700 (B12 / B17 / B28) MHz
- LTE (TDD): 2500 (B41 / AXGP) MHz
- W-CDMA: 2100 (I) / 900 (VIII) / 850 (V) / 800 (VI / XIX) MHz
- GSM: 1900 / 1800 / 900 / 850 MHz
The business-targeted AQUOS sense3 basic (907SH) is only offered in one colour: silver.
https://jp.sharp/business/mobilephone/products/aquos-sense3-basic/index.html
AQUOS
sense3
SH-02M
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX8
- Dustproofing: IP6X
- Shock-resistance: MIL-STD-810H
- Operating memory (RAM): 4 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 64 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 512 GB
- The OS received an upgrade to version 10 on 18 August 2020.
- The OS received an upgrade to version 11 on 14 June 2021.
Docomo have also announced the mid-range AQUOS sense3 (of which three variants are available) under the model name SH-02M in their Winter 2019/2020 collection.
The colour variations for the SH-02M are: light copper, black, silver white, deep pink.
AQUOS
sense3
SHV45
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX8
- Dustproofing: IP6X
- Shock-resistance: MIL-STD-810H
- Operating memory (RAM): 4 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 64 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 512 GB
- The OS received an upgrade to version 10 on 24 June 2020.
- The OS received an upgrade to version 11 on 8 June 2021.
Japanese carrier AU by KDDI is the first of the major three to announce the Aquos sense3 in its Winter 2019 collection, under the model name SHV45. The SHV45 is also available on AU's subsidiary UQ Communications.
The colour variations for the SHV45 are: soft pink, silver white, light copper, and black.
AQUOS
sense3
SH-M12
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX8
- Dustproofing: IP6X
- Shock-resistance: MIL-STD-810H
- Operating memory (RAM): 4 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 64 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 512 GB
- The OS received an upgrade to version 10 on 4 August 2020.
- The OS received an upgrade to version 11 on 15 June 2021.
The SH-M12 is the SIM-free version of the mid-range Aquos sense3 that is part of Sharp's Winter 2019/2020 collection.
This is the first phone Sharp are releasing in Japan that supports two SIM cards (DSDV-compatible), both LTE-enabled. In addition, the sXGP standard is implemented to ensure high security and stable network communication, making it the ideal phone for corporate use (Android Enterprise Recommended).
Supported radio frequencies include:
- LTE: Band 1 (2.0 GHz) / Band 3 (1.7 GHz) / Band 5 (850 MHz) / Band 8 (900 MHz) / Band 12 (700 MHz) / Band 17 (700 MHz) / Band 18 (800 MHz) / Band 19 (800 MHz) / Band 39 (1.9 GHz) / Band 41 (2.5 GHz)
- 3G: Band 1 (2.0 GHz) / Band 5 (850 MHz) / Band 6 (800 MHz) / Band 8 (900 MHz) / Band 19 (800 MHz)
- GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
The colour variations for the SH-02M are: light copper, black, silver white.
Android One
S7
S7-SH
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX8
- Dustproofing: IP6X
- Shock-resistance: MIL-STD-810H
- Operating memory (RAM): 3 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 32 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 512 GB
- The OS received an upgrade to version 11 on 29 March 2021.
The same hardware as on the AQUOS sense 3 basic is also released on Y!Mobile as the next instalment of the Android One series, designated Android One S7 (S7-SH).
Being an entry-level device, it gets the lowest amount of RAM in the sense3 family – 3 GB – and the lowest amount of onboard storage – just 32 GB.
But it is the first Sharp-made Android One device to offer shock-resistance protection (MIL-STD-810H), in addition to being water- and dust-proof.
Connectivity is provided by Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac on the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, Bluetooth 5.0, and LTE/W-CDMA:
Supported radio frequencies include:
- LTE (FDD): 2100 (B1) / 1800 (B3) / 900 (B8) / 850 (B5) / 800 (B18 / B19) / 700 (B12 / B17 / B28) MHz
- LTE (TDD): 2500 (B41 / AXGP) MHz
- W-CDMA: 2100 (I) / 900 (VIII) / 850 (V) / 800 (VI / XIX) MHz
- GSM: 1900 / 1800 / 900 / 850 MHz
It is available in light copper, silver, and black.
Unlike the other devices in the AQUOS sense3 family, the S7-SH launches with Android 10.