Hands On with the Sharp Aquos Sense 4 Plus
Purchase Price: $369.99
Buy on eBay
The Aquos Sense 4 Plus is Sharp’s relatively new mid-ranged phone. In past years here at The Sypnotix, we’ve enjoyed taking a look at previous Sharp phones including the Aquos S3 and its predecessor, the Aquos S2. Known for their sharp (pun intended) displays, let’s take a closer look at some of its features.
The Build
The Aquos Sense 4 Plus comes in three colors: black, purple and white. The version we’ll be taking a look at is the black variant and I actually like the gradient flare it shows when reflecting light. This is a mid-ranged phone, hence the plastic build, but it does seem well made and sturdy considering the price point. Weighing 198 grams, there is considerable heft behind the device which makes this feel surprisingly more premium than it may look.
The Sense 4 Plus features a rear fingerprint scanner as well as facial recognition as the forms of biometric security. On the top left of the phone sits a 3.5 mm headphone jack with the volume rocker and power button located on the opposite side of the device split between an assistant feature button. There’s a bottom firing speaker alongside a USB-C port for charging. All there is on the left side is a dual sim tray.
A Sharp Display
The screen size veers larger on the Sense 4 Plus at 6.7 inches. Bezels are minimal but there is a slightly thicker forehead and chin than on the sides. There’s two hole punch cameras on the top right corner infiltrating the 1080x2440p panel that has a pixel density of 393 ppi. This is an IPS LCD display, so while the colors and vibrancy are relatively good at angles straight on, it does have weak spots in other positions. There’s more to come in my full review of this later.
On the Inside
The Sharp Aquos Sense 4 Plus is powered by 8 GB of RAM and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor. There’s also 128 GB of storage with microSD expansion up to 256 GB. The chipset here is the same as the Sharp Sense 4 model but offers additional RAM and storage. It’ll take a little more time with the phone to really see how performance goes so stay tuned for our upcoming review. The Sense 4 Plus houses a 4,120 mAh battery which is a strong size for a device running on Android 10.
Although on the surface, the user experience is rather stock Android-like, Sharp has thrown in an abundance of useful customization options. Of note are active alterations the user can control for the display. Sharp has given the flexibility to not only alter what the user would like their display to emit, but also the option to prevent others from seeing the display.
Another surprisingly user friendly addition is auto-scrolling when browsing. Simply swiping two fingers in a direction will have the phone automatically move through the article for you to read. Not everyone will use these features, but I do like how they aren’t glaringly forced upon you and are neatly tucked away deep into the settings menu.
Four Cameras
The quad camera set up on the back of the Sense 4 Plus looks clean and well laid out. There’s a 48 MP f/1.8 wind angle main camera followed by a 5 MP f/2.2 ultrawide angle, a 2 MP f/2.4 macro and a 2 MP f/2.4 depth sensor as well. As mentioned earlier, there are two selfie cameras on the front including an 8 MP f/2.0 wide angle and a 2 MP depth sensor. As we’ve seen before, more cameras doesn’t necessarily mean a better quality camera so we’ll take a closer look at this in our full review. I do want to note that there really isn’t a sizable camera hump when looking at the phone from an angle. Sharp did a really clean job with their design all around.
Initial Thoughts
When unboxing the Sense 4 Plus, I couldn’t help but instantly draw comparisons to the OnePlus N10. They’re relatively comparable in build and size and seem to operate similarly as well. I’m quite surprised at how much I like the look of the Sense 4 Plus. It’s a glossy plastic housing which is a dime a dozen on smartphones, yet I can’t get my eyes off of it. It’s a very clean aesthetic that Sharp has applied here and I dig it.
Alex
Caught in between the conundrum of his fascination with retro and the future, Alex has a very unique taste in technology. Never one to follow trends like his millennial peers yet constantly desiring to get ahead of the curve, he sees technology like he does his other love: comic books. Always looking for the best value or a hidden gem, his collector mindset reflects on some of his favorite gadgets: the Moto X (2015), HTC U11 and the Google Pixelbook. If there’s a good tech deal out there, Alex is on the hunt!