Sharp shows Aquos Zero smartphone with OLED screen from its own factory

Sharp has announced the Aquos Zero, the manufacturer’s first device with an OLED screen from its own factory. Sharp also wants to supply OLED screens to other manufacturers in the long term. The company already supplies LCDs to Apple.

Sharp has put a page with details about its Aquos Zero smartphone online. In a video, the manufacturer calls the phone a concept. When the device will be on the market and for what price is not yet clear, but Sharp will initially only release the Aquos Zero in Japan.

The slightly curved 6.2″ OLED screen has a notch and a resolution of 2992×1440 pixels, making the screen the same width as a 6″ screen with 18:9 ratio or a 16:9 screen of 5.5″. It can display HDR images according to the Dolby Vision standard.The waterproof housing of the Aquos Zero measures 154x73x8.8mm and weighs 146 grams. According to Sharp, this is a very low weight for a device of this size, due to the using carbon fiber and a magnesium alloy frame.

The phone uses a Snapdragon 845-soc, has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. On the back is a 22.6-megapixel camera with an f/1.9 lens and the front camera has an 8-megapixel resolution. The device has a 3130mAh battery and the operating system is Android 9.

Sharp also wants to make its OLED panel available to other manufacturers, but according to Reuters, the Japanese manufacturer says that no deals have been made yet. The company is also cautious about rapidly expanding production capacity, because ‘the momentum’ for the demand for OLED panels is declining.

The market for OLED screens in smartphones is currently dominated by Samsung. The OLED screens from Samsung are not only in the Galaxy devices, but also in phones from many other brands, including Apple. In addition to Samsung, LG also makes OLED panels for smartphones, but LG’s market share is much smaller. The arrival of a new player on the market for small OLED panels could lead to more competition and lower prices.