Almost all the negatives of the previous model have been destroyed! Sharp's serious AQUOS R7 is amazing

　A serious model that almost completely destroys the negatives of the previous model!

　Sharp officially announced the flagship smartphone "AQUOS R7"last year. After all, the camera has an overwhelming advantage in sensor size. I am also an AQUOS R6 user equipped with a digital camera-class 1-inch sensor, but when I saw the evolution of the R7, I honestly thought, "I want this ! "

　The biggest weakness of AQUOS R6 was the lack of AF . While the large 1-inch sensor provided superior image quality, the shallow depth of field also made the autofocus silly. Although it became much better with the update. After all, it is affected by sunlight, etc., because it relies on the auxiliary laser AF.

　Therefore, this time it supports image plane phase difference AF (all pixel Octa PD AF method) that detects the focus position with all pixels . The AF speed is said to be twice as fast as the previous model.

　This eliminates laser AF, which has a weak point. Instead, it is equipped with a high-sensitivity rangefinder sensor that enables night portrait shooting even in dark places. Equipped with a 1.9 megapixel sensor for high sensitivity ranging on the left side of the main camera.

The Leitz logo instead of Leica is used on the camera part due to a brand strategy that emphasizes Leitz. Since Sharp makes Leica products, the successor to Leitz Phone is not mentioned at this time. Although the partnership has entered its second phase, it is said that the R7 has image quality processing that reflects the intentions and ideas of Leica through past experiences.

　In addition, it also supports eye AF and a function that tracks dogs/cats/humans with AI and keeps them in focus. Although it is a new function reminiscent of Xperia, it is a long-awaited AQUOS equipped with a 1-inch camera with a shallow depth of field. In the case of humans, it switches to Eye AF at close range.

　The lens is a Summicron with an F value of 1.9 and a focal length of 19mm. The AQUOS R6 has quite a few unique lens flares, but the nano-order low-reflection treatment reduces reflections by 60%.　Despite the overwhelming image quality potential of the 1-inch sensor, it has overcome its weaknesses.　However, the appeal of AQUOS R6 was that it secured a large pixel pitch by daring to reduce the number of pixels, but what will happen with higher pixels?

　It is extremely powerful because it has a pixel size of 3.2 μm with pixel binning (pixel mixing) and an amazing pixel pitch of 1.6 μm even in non-binning 47.2 million pixel high resolution mode. Even the Xperia Pro-I, which sacrificed the number of pixels for pixel pitch and AF, is 2.4 μm, so it's really amazing.

　The combination of this pixel pitch and high pixel count is theoretically expected to improve image quality during zooming . It can be said that the AQUOS R7 has reached the challenge that would naturally be reached if it was a concept that does not have a telephoto lens and is responsible for all angles of view with an overwhelming single lens.

　However, in addition to the huge 1-inch sensor, the problem with supporting high pixels is that a suitable readout speed and processing performance are required . The higher the image quality and the more the image plane phase detection AF is performed on all pixels, the more heat generation becomes a problem.

　Regarding this point, in addition to the fact that pixel binning is basically used instead of high-resolution high-resolution mode, measures against heat generation have been strengthened, and graphite sheets are placed under the camera and slits are provided to dissipate heat. Measures against heat generation are applied to the housing. It is less likely to generate heat than AQUOS R6.　The author was a user of AQUOS R5G and R6, so the points that cannot be overlooked are the sound and Qi .

It seems that the R5G was no good, and the R6 was not good enough, but it seems that they are trying to improve it by 　catching up with users' voices and installing a new wideband BOX structure speaker .

　In addition, it also supports Qi wireless charging, which was not supported by R5G and R6, so it seems good for daily use. It charges just by putting it on, and the peripheral devices are also substantial, so it's not enough now. The storage capacity has doubled from 128GB to 256GB. Also for millimeter waves.

　Gorilla glass Victus is used on both sides of the housing to increase strength, and the sides are aluminum frames. I feel that all of them contribute to the sense of luxury. Although it has a casually glittering lame finish, it has a frosted glass finish and is unique in that it does not leave fingerprints. The volume key and power button are placed on the side, and I personally welcome the abolition of the Google Assistant key, which was infrequently used

　The AQUOS R6 used an edge display to disguise its thickness, but it's a little regrettable that both sides are bent even though it has a beautiful display, and the curved part was accidentally touched. The suppression process was also not good, so here was not good enough.　R7 returns to flat display . It can be said that this is more like the AQUOS series, which has a sharper display.

　The panel is an organic EL "Pro IGZO OLED" developed and produced in-house with variable drive from 1Hz to 240Hz. It seems that adjustments have been made to make better use of the power-saving 1Hz stationary drive (idling stop) when the screen is stationary. HDR video playback comparison with differences in brightness Left: AQUOS R5G with a maximum of 1000nit LCD, Right: AQUOS R7 with a maximum of 2000nit organic EL

　The newly installed frame interpolation function is effective for YouTube and videos taken by yourself. Supported by Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, no proprietary image quality processing chip. This is the first time to use the previous generation Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 for frame interpolation.　In addition, it also supports AI super resolution and up-converts low-quality videos. All of them are only for apps specified from the "Smooth High Speed" setting.　AQUOS R6 had a weak point that it could not get closer due to its large camera sensor, but R7 said that the shortest shooting distance was shortened by 10% to 15%.

　The biggest dissatisfaction of the AQUOS R6 is the camera UI, which ignores the camera etiquette and the standard UI of smartphone cameras as described in this article, `` changing the angle of view is too complicated '', `` meaningless numerical value display '', `` camera settings are not retained '' It was very inconvenient to use, such as "Camera settings and preview are covered and disturbed".

　However, many of these peculiarities have been resolved at once. With a new mode that memorizes favorite settings, the camera UI has undergone a transformation that makes it easier to draw out its potential.

　At the moment, it's still in the development stage, so I can't test the camera app on the actual device for hands-on use. A must-see for AQUOS R6 users who have been frustrated. Due to hardware dependent parts and the development process, it is not possible to apply it to R6 by updating.

　By the way, the RAW HDR introduced this time is not a new concept RAW that includes depth information that has recently appeared, but refers to HDR compositing processing that does not include JPG in the process. As before, RAW cannot be saved when using RAW HDR. By introducing a new process, it is possible to achieve more beautiful HDR photos with less ghosting etc. at higher speed. The room for evolution of AQUOS is exactly HDR, which is a pleasing point.

　Due to the fact that the camera system is large and thick with a 1-inch sensor, it is naturally difficult to implement OIS (optical image stabilization), which physically moves these, because it causes further thickness, and this point is covered by the sensitivity of the camera sensor. To do.

　The AF is weak, the edges are subtle, the camera UI is too bad... AQUOS R6 had multiple issues due to its sharp camera system, but AQUOS R7 is serious about addressing them and challenging further heights. Still, it inherits the goodness of the large-capacity 5000mAh battery and the high-speed, wide-range Qualcomm 3D Sonic Mac ultrasonic fingerprint authentication. Of course, there is also an Osaifu-Keitai with IP68. My curiosity was also quite intrigued.