Sharp smartphones are coming back to Europe: Here's the initial lineup

Sharp has re-entered the European market, officially launching three smartphones at IFA in Berlin today. The announcement comes roughly a year after the Japanese company first announced plans to come back to Europe.

The three phones are the Sharp B10, Aquos C10, and Aquos D10, all coming in under the 400 euro mark.

The Aquos D10 is the most expensive model of the lot, priced at 399 euros. For the price, you’re getting a Snapdragon 630 chipset, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable storage, and a 5.99-inch full HD+ LCD screen with an iPhone X-style notch.

Other prominent D10 specs include a 2,900mAh battery, a dual-camera setup (12MP+13MP telephoto), 16MP selfie camera, and USB Type-C connectivity.

What to expect from C10, B10?

The Aquos C10 shares some DNA with the D10, but is available for 299 euros. The phone has identical horsepower to the D10, featuring a Snapdragon 630, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of expandable storage.

Other specs include a 5.5-inch full HD+ TFT display (with a nifty Essential-style notch), a 2,700mAh battery, dual-camera setup (12MP+8MP), 8MP front-facing camera, and USB Type-C support.

Finally, we’ve got the B10, which also has a 299 euro price tag. The device has a weaker spec sheet compared to its stablemates, offering a MediaTek MT6750T chipset (octa-core Cortex-A53), 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage, and a 5.7-inch 1,440 x 720 TFT display.

The B10 also packs a large 4,000mAh battery, dual camera pairing (13MP+8MP super-wide angle), 13MP selfie shooter, and microUSB port.

All three phones deliver a rear fingerprint scanner and facial recognition but, disappointingly, all three phones are also running outdated versions of Android. The D10 and C10 are still on Android 8.0, while the B10 is listed as having Android 7.0 Nougat.

Releasing a phone with Android 8.0 is pretty poor form already, as Android 8.1 has been out for roughly a year already (and Android Pie has been out of the oven for a while now). But the fact that Sharp launched a new phone with Android Nougat is incredibly disappointing. Here’s hoping the company is simply skipping Android 8.1 and hard at work on bringing Android Pie to these phones.

The C10 and B10 have been available in Europe since July, while the D10 is scheduled to arrive in September, the Japanese firm confirmed. Additionally, Sharp is bundling a 24-inch HD-ready TV with every purchase of the B10.

Those hoping for the sleek Aquos R2 flagship to arrive in Europe will be disappointed, as the firm made no mention of the device. In addition to flagship power (Snapdragon 845, 4GB RAM, 64GB storage) and water resistance, the Aquos R2 offers one rear camera for images and a secondary wide-angle camera dedicated to videos.

What do you think of Sharp’s budget phone line-up in Europe? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

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