Created: 17 February 2020 · Last edited: 24 September 2026
The AQUOS R5G, which Sharp announced mid-February 2020, is the fourth model in the AQUOS R series and the first Japanese 5G device — which explains why Sharp decided to skip the R4 designation and jump straight to R5G.
The Aquos R5G is also of 8K video recording.
Its 5th Generation IGZO display has a diagonal size of 6.5 inches and a resolution of 1440 x 3168 pixels (4K). 10-bit colour processing delivers one billion colours and ensures the Aquos R5G display covers the Adobe RGB gamut – the same as in professional monitors. Also supported are Dolby Vision and U-NEXT HDR. The device even comes with Adobe Photoshop Express pre-installed.
Audio playback is top-notch, as in earlier Aquos Rs: two speakers on each narrow side of the phone to deliver stereo sound, enhanced with Dolby Atmos and Hi-Res, including for wireless playback.
Sharp have also upped the ante on the cameras game – now FOUR of them! One telephoto, one super-wide angle, one standard-angle, and one time-of-flight (ToF) sensor to measure the distance to the object using near-infrared light.
The telephoto camera is 12.2 megapixels and has an aperture of f/2.7. It also has 2x optical zoom.
The standard camera is also 12.2 megapixels but the aperture is f/1.7.
The super wide-angle camera is 48 megapixels and has an aperture of f/2.9.
Both the telephoto and the standard cameras have optical image stabilisation (OIS). In addition, there is electronic image stabilisation (EIS) for video-shooting.
When 8K wide content (7680 x 4320 px) is recorded, you can enjoy focus playback, that is you can zoom-in on an area of the video.
Also available are features found on previous Aquos R phones such as AI Auto, AI Live Story, and AI Live Shutter.
The inner (selfie) camera is 16.4 megapixels and has an aperture of f/2.0. It's also equipped with the Aquos Beauty feature to conceal various "defects" the subject's face might have.
To power all of this, the latest and greatest of Qualcomm's processors is used: the Snapdragon 856 5G. A whole lot of RAM megabytes have been poured in – 12 GB (LPDDR5), and the built-in storage memory is 256 GB (UFS3.0+). Storage space can be expanded using microSDHC cards of up to 1 terabyte!
The new Wi-Fi 6 standard is supported: IEEE802.11 ax, alongside the older 1/b/g/n/ac. The Bluetooth version is 5.1.
Both One Seg and Full Seg digital terrestrial TV are supported – it's been a while since the Sharp flagships ditched it but now it's back. Biometric authentication is naturally available, too: face and fingerprint recognition.
The Aquos R5G measures 162 x 75 x 8.9 mm and weighs approximately 189 grams.
The AQUOS R5G is very expensive. The 908SH, for example, will be sold at 129,600 JPY (or 1224 USD at the current going rate), which is the most expensive Japanese phone to date. Those who want to spend this s**tload of money on a phone, as gorgeous as it might be, will be able to do so as of 27 March 2020.
The Softbank Aquos R5G is initially released running Android 10. Two major (OS) upgrades are guaranteed by Sharp and the respective carrier.
Specifications
- Display: 6.5 inches, 3168 × 1440 px — Pro IGZO LCD / 120 Hz
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 (SDM865) — 4 × 2.8 GHz + 4 × 1.8 GHz
- Rear camera:
- 12.2 MP CMOS, PDAF + CAF, OIS, HDR, f/1.7, 78° wide-angle + 12.2 MP CMOS, PDAF + CAF, OIS, HDR, f/2.7, 44° wide-angle + 48 MP CMOS, PDAF + CAF, f/2.9
- 4320p @ 30 fps
- Front-facing camera:
- 16.4 MP CMOS, AF, SR, f/2.0
- 1080p @ 30 fps
- Battery: 3730 mAh (non-removable)
- Operating system: Android
- OS version at launch: 10
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AQUOS
R5G
SH-51A
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX8
- Dustproofing: IP6X
- Operating memory (RAM): 12 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 256 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 1 TB
- The OS received an upgrade to version 11 on 16 April 2021.
- The OS received an upgrade to version 12 on 18 May 2022.
Docomo will be offering the Aquos R5G SH-51A in black ray and aurora white colour variants.
The SH-51A supports the following radio frequencies:
- NR: 3.7 GHz (n77 / n78) / 4.5 GHz (n79)
- LTE (FDD): 2600 (B7) / 1900 (B2) / 1700 (B4) / 850 (B5) / 700 (B12 / B13 / B17) MHz
- LTE (TDD): 2600 (B38) / 2500 (B41) MHz
- W-CDMA: 1900 (II) / 1700 (IV) / 850 (V) MHz
- GSM: 1900 / 850 MHz
AQUOS
R5G
SHG01
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX8
- Dustproofing: IP6X
- Operating memory (RAM): 12 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 256 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 1 TB
- The OS received an upgrade to version 11 on 10 May 2021.
- The OS received an upgrade to version 12 on 16 May 2022.
AU is offering the Aquos R5G SHG01 in "earth blue" and "aurora white" colour variants.
The AU SHG01 version will support the following radio frequencies:
- NR: 700 MHz (n28) / 3.5 GHz (n78) / 4.0 GHz (n77, after software update)
- LTE (FDD): 2600 (B7) / 1900 (B2) / 1700 (B4) / 850 (B5) / 700 (B12 / B13 / B17) MHz
- LTE (TDD): 2600 (B38) / 2500 (B41) MHz
- W-CDMA: 1900 (II) / 1700 (IV) / 850 (V) MHz
- GSM: 1900 / 850 MHz
AQUOS
R5G
908SH
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX8
- Dustproofing: IP6X
- Operating memory (RAM): 12 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 256 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 1 TB
- The OS received an upgrade to version 11 on 30 March 2021.
- The OS received an upgrade to version 12 on 16 May 2022.
SoftBank will be offering the Aquos R5G 908SH in earth blue, black ray, and aurora white.
The 908SH will support the following radio frequencies:
- NR (TDD): 3700 (n77) MHz
- LTE (FDD): 2600 (B7) / 2100 (B1) / 1900 (B2) / 1800 (B3) / 1700 (B4) / 1500 (B11) / 900 (B8) / 850 (B5) / 800 (B18 / B19) / 700 (B12 / B17 / B28) MHz
- LTE (TDD): 3500 (B42) / 2600 (B38) / 2500 (B41 / AXGP) / 2300 (B40) MHz
- W-CDMA: 2100 (I) / 1900 (II) / 1700 (IV) / 900 (VIII) / 850 (V) / 800 (VI / XIX) MHz
- GSM: 1900 / 1800 / 900 / 850 MHz
AQUOS
R5G
SH-RM14
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX8
- Dustproofing: IP6X
- Operating memory (RAM): 12 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 256 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 1 TB
- The OS received an upgrade to version 11 on 15 April 2021.
- The OS received an upgrade to version 12 on 25 May 2022.
Rakuten Mobile is offering the Aquos R5G SH-RM14 in "earth blue" and "aurora white" colour variants.
At launch, the Rakuten SH-RM14 only supports 4G/LTE communication, although the hardware already includes support for Rakuten's forthcoming 5G network. The supported radio frequencies are:
- NR: n77 (3.8 GHz)
- LTE (FDD): Band 1 (2.1 GHz) / Band 2 (1.9 GHz) / Band 3 (1.8 GHz) / Band 4 (1.7 GHz / 2.1 GHz AWS) / Band 5 (850 MHz) / Band 7 (2.6 GHz) / Band 8 (900 MHz) / Band 11 (1.4 GHz) / Band 12 (700 MHz) / Band 13 (750 MHz) / Band 17 (700 MHz) / Band 18 (800 MHz) / Band 19 (800 MHz) / Band 20 (800 MHz) / Band 28 (700 MHz APT)
- LTE (TDD): Band 38 (2.6 GHz) / Band 39 (1.9 GHz) / Band 40 (2.3 GHz) / Band 41 (2.5 GHz) / Band 42 (3.4 GHz)
- W-CDMA: Band I (2.1 GHz) / Band II (1.9 GHz) / Band IV (1.7 GHz / 2.1 GHz AWS) / Band V (850 MHz) / Band VI (800 MHz) / Band VIII (900 MHz) / Band XIX (800 MHz)
- GSM: 850 MHz / 900 MHz / 1.8 GHz / 1.9 GHz
Rakuten's 5G network was not yet ready at launch, but this was later addressed through a software update released on 30 September 2020. The update added support for Rakuten's 5G service, allowing the SH-RM14 to make use of its built-in 5G capability on the n77 band. Users also needed to enable 5G in the network settings and use a 5G-compatible Rakuten plan.
AQUOS
R5G
SH-R50
- Waterproofing: IPX5/IPX8
- Dustproofing: IP6X
- Operating memory (RAM): 12 GB
- Built-in storage memory: 256 GB
- External storage: microSDXC, 1 TB
- The OS received an upgrade to version 11 on 7 April 2021.
Working in conjunction with its affiliate Aurora Telecom Co., Ltd., Sharp have officially announced their 5G smartphone for Taiwan, where it will be distributed exclusively through FarEasTone. The AQUOS R5G will be offered under model name SH-R50.
The SH-R50 supports Taiwan's 5G network and the following frequency ranges:
- NR (FR1, FDD): 2100 (n1) / 1800 (n3) / 700 (n28) MHz
- NR (FR1, TDD): 3500 (n78) MHz
- LTE (FDD): 2600 (B7) / 2100 (B1) / 1900 (B2) / 1800 (B3) / 1700 (B4) / 900 (B8) / 850 (B5) / 700 (B12 / B17) MHz
- LTE (TDD): 2600 (B38) / 2500 (B41) / 2300 (B40) / 1900 (B39) MHz
- W-CDMA: 2100 (I) / 1900 (II) / 900 (VIII) / 850 (V) MHz
- GSM: 1900 / 1800 / 900 / 850 MHz
In Taiwan, the SH-R50 will only be available in black or white; the blue-colour version remains exclusive for Japan.