Sharp Aquos Crystal vs Galaxy S5 vs One (M8): specs comparison

posted by Ray S. / Aug 19, 2014, 10:15 AM

Sharp Aquos Crystal vs Galaxy S5 vs One (M8): specs comparison

Many of us, tech-savvy individuals, have wanted to see some of Sharp's striking, almost bezel-less smartphones finally arrive in the US, but those "headless" phones had, until now, been exclusively available in Japan. Well, you remember that Japanese carrier Softbank recently bought the majority of Sprint, right? We suspect this may have something to do with today's announcement - Sprint has officially become the first US carrier to offer a Sharp Aquos phone, and boy is that new Aquos Crystal a looker! With almost zero bezel around the left, right, and top sides, this phone manages to pack a sizable 5" screen into a relatively compact body size. Sweet, eh? However, we should point out that this is a mid-range offering that doesn't quite aim to compete with the big guys on the market. Still, where there's smoke there's fire, so we can imagine that if this new fella gets a warm welcome from US customers, more Sharp phones will follow it through this newly-established warp gate connecting Japan and the US.

This post just got a little too geeky? Agreed. Now, let's turn our attention back to the Sharp Aquos Crystal and our specs comparison. As we said, the Crystal is more of a mid-range affair, but we're still going to pit it against some of the most popular Androids out there, just to get an idea of how it stacks up against those popular models.

Sharp AQUOS Crystal vs Samsung Galaxy S5 vs HTC One (M8) for Windows

Display

Display size

5.0 inches

5.1 inches

5.0 inches

Resolution

720 x 1280 pixels

1080 x 1920 pixels

Pixel density

294 ppi

432 ppi

441 ppi

Technology

LCD

Super AMOLED

Screen-to-body ratio

78.42 %

69.76 %

66.71 %

Camera

Rear

Single camera

Dual camera

Main camera

8 megapixels

16 megapixels

4 megapixels

Hardware Features

Autofocus

Back-illuminated sensor (BSI), Phase detection autofocus

Autofocus, Back-illuminated sensor (BSI)

Specifications

Aperture size: F2.2; Focal length: 31 mm; Sensor size: 1/2.6"; Pixel size: 1.12 μm

Aperture size: F2.0; Focal length: 28 mm; Sensor size: 1/3"; Pixel size: 2 μm

Second camera

4 megapixels

Hardware Features

Depth information

Video recording

1920x1080 (Full HD) (30 fps)

3840x2160 (4K UHD) (30 fps), 1920x1080 (Full HD) (60 fps)

1920x1080 (Full HD)

Recording format

MPEG4, H.264

Features

High Dynamic Range mode (HDR), Continuous autofocus, Digital image stabilization, Video calling, Video sharing

High Dynamic Range mode (HDR)

Front

1.2 megapixels

2.1 megapixels

5 megapixels

Video capture

1280x720 (HD) (30 fps)

1920x1080 (Full HD)

Design

Dimensions

5.16 x 2.64 x 0.39 inches (131 x 67 x 10 mm)

5.59 x 2.85 x 0.32 inches (142 x 72.5 x 8.1 mm)

5.76 x 2.78 x 0.37 inches (146.36 x 70.6 x 9.35 mm)

Weight

4.97 oz (141 g)

5.11 oz (145 g)

5.64 oz (160 g)

Materials

Back: Plastic

Back: Metal

Resistance

Water, Dust; IP 67

Biometrics

Fingerprint (swipe)

Features

Touch sensitive control keys, Interchangeable covers, Notification light

Notification light

Hardware & Performance

System chip

Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 8926

Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 MSM8974-AC

Qualcomm Snapdragon 801

Processor

Quad-core, 1200 MHz

Quad-core, 2500 MHz, Krait 400, 32-bit, 28 nm

Quad-core, 2300 MHz

GPU

Adreno 305

Adreno 330

Yes

RAM

1.5 GB

2 GB LPDDR3

2 GB

OS

Android (4.4.2)

Android (6.0 Marshmallow, 5.1 Lollipop, 5.0 Lollipop, 4.4.4, 4.4.2), Samsung TouchWiz UI

Windows Phone, 8.1

Battery

Capacity

2040 mAh

2800 mAh

2600 mAh

Talk time

13.00 hours

21.00 hours

Stand-by time

16.2 days (390 hours)

Talk time (3G)

21.00 hours

22.00 hours

Stand-by time (3G)

22.0 days (528 hours)

Music playback

67.00 hours

Video playback

13.00 hours

Options

18 Comments

1. nohatenofanboy

Posts: 515; Member since: Jul 15, 2014

720p not enough , sd400 wut ? , 1.5 gb ram are u kidding ? , 8gb lol , 2040 mah pfff , 8 mp meh

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 11:31 AM 0

4. Sealblaighter

Posts: 429; Member since: Jan 26, 2014

This is a mid-end smart phone, what did you thought???

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 12:07 PM 2

18. osanilevich

Posts: 287; Member since: Sep 29, 2009

I know sharp is better than this. They should consider bringing their A-game if they plan on making us wait 20 years for another AQUOS phone to hit the US market

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 8:49 PM 0

6. james1

Posts: 97; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

Still better than the iPhone

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 1:06 PM 3

8. Shatter

Posts: 2036; Member since: May 29, 2013

Everything except the SOC is.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 2:02 PM 0

10. nohatenofanboy

iphone ? your hate throws you out of topic

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 3:00 PM 0

13. robcar

Posts: 110; Member since: Jan 18, 2011

It looks better for sure.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 4:39 PM 0

16. Berzerk000

Posts: 4275; Member since: Jun 26, 2011

It's only $240 off contract. Better than every other mid range phone, except maybe the Moto G. You trade $60 for an extra half GB of RAM.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 7:53 PM 0

2. Totse2k15

Posts: 478; Member since: Feb 11, 2014

Specs/Display ain't that crystal compared to the other two. Sprint, no thanks.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 11:35 AM 0

3. kassi

Posts: 109; Member since: May 25, 2013

fix the specs, then its great

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 11:55 AM 1

5. ArtSim98

Posts: 3535; Member since: Dec 21, 2012

What it's actually a midranger? Suddenly lost all my hype. :( Still, Sharp makes some amazing phones even with high end specs :D

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 12:10 PM 0

7. blitz9595

Posts: 1; Member since: Aug 19, 2014

this comparison isn't fair....u should have compared crystal x with other high end fones

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 1:27 PM 0

9. buccob

Posts: 2974; Member since: Jun 19, 2012

This needs to be compared to Moto X, Moto G, Xperia Z1 Compact, Xperia M2, Galaxy S5 Mini, Galaxy Alpha, HTC One Mini 2

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 2:24 PM 0

11. RodStiffington

Posts: 32; Member since: Feb 20, 2014

I’m fascinated by the level of condemnation from you people, just because a phone looks different than what you’re used to seeing. The Sharp AQUOS Crystal has style, build quality, it’s unique, but you keep S-ing on it. This is why we can’t have anything nice! IT’S GOT A 5" EDGE TO EDGE LCD DISPLAY FOR $240!!!! A savings of $350 over the S5 and M8, and $200 over the S5 Mini. It could have a hamster on a wheel as the SoC and it would still be cool. I hear the same complaint, over and over: "there's too much bezel, WTF this phone sux!" This phone is like: "F the bezel in the A." And y'all like: "No thx, tha specs sux. I'll pay $649 for tha ugly POS Red Cross Band-Aid Edition of the S5." You deserve to have your booty pillaged by expensive wireless carries.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 4:06 PM 0

12. PK1983

Posts: 215; Member since: Aug 08, 2012

Design = A+ Internals = C Price = A Put a 1080 p in it, a SD800 and charge $350 and I'd be happy to pick it up.

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 4:35 PM 1

15. Carlosfrancoz

Posts: 19; Member since: Oct 10, 2013

Sharp Aquos Crystal X, this is the Crystal (a midranger), Crystal X is the high-end which has A+ internals (including 1080p display)

posted on Aug 19, 2014, 5:06 PM 0

14. Carlosfrancoz

PA, I think if you're going to compare these two phones at least do it with the Crystal X (which is high-end device) because Crystal is a mid range device!!!!!!!!!!!! You have to correct this article