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If you believe the latest iPhone 6 rumors , the next Apple handset will have considerably less bezel surrounding the screen than its predecessors.
But nothing quite like this.
According to photos and news discovered today by PhoneArena, Sprint will unveil the new Sharp Aquos Crystal smartphone line at a press event Tuesday, August 19. And if the event’s name, Take the Edge Off, is any indication, that line will feature at least one model with an almost frameless design.
Indeed, when you look at the Crystal head-on, you see only the tiniest border surrounding three sides of the screen. There’s definitely a chunk of bezel at the bottom, one that appears to contain a camera lens and possibly a microphone and speaker. But, overall, there’s never been anything quite like this, at least not in the US.
As detailed in press materials from SoftBank, the Japanese company that owns Sprint, the Aquos Crystal (which is rumored to be unveiled at Tuesday’s event) is a 5-inch phone that measures 0.39 inch thick — not far off from the LG G3 , a recent model known for its minimal bezel.
Its specs include a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, 720p display, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of (hopefully expandable) storage, and a 2,040mAh battery — definitely on the smaller side for a phone of this size. The Crystal will reportedly run Android 4.4.2.
Of note, according to PhoneArena, the phone is “equipped with a Harman Kardon sound effects engine with support for ‘Clari-Fi’ (restoring of information lost when compressing music), ‘LiveStage’ streaming, and native compatibility with the Harman Kardon ONYX Studio Bluetooth speaker.”
Sharp also unveiled a 5.5-inch version of the phone, the Crystal X, featuring a faster processor, 1080p screen, lots more storage (32GB), and a larger battery (2,610mAh). But this model is not expected to launch in the US., at least not immediately.
Pricing has yet to be revealed, so we’ll have to see what Sprint’s event reveals (CNET will be reporting from it). In the meantime, what are your thoughts on the Aquos Crystal? Does it realize the dream of the (mostly) bezelless smartphone?
