Smartisan R1 is the First Flagship Smartphone to Feature 1TB of Storage

Smartisan, a Beijing-based company you may not have heard of, manufactures premium flagships with unique designs and top-notch specs. Unlike most Chinese brands, its lineup comes at hefty prices with internal storage being its key selling point. The company offers up to 1 TB internal storage in addition to latest hardware mostly seen in international flagships.

Among its premium models, the Smartisan R1 is a sharp-cornered phablet that packs dual cameras, an impressive notched display, and some of the latest internal hardware.

Design & Display

The first thing to notice is the frontal notch, that looks quite similar to the Essential phone, and is quite smaller as compared to most notched-display phones these days. It has a grade 3 aluminum frame, and a 3D glass finish on top. It measures 153.5 x 74.5 x 7.7 mm and weighs 153 grams. The tiny notch houses both the front camera and an earpiece.

The R1 features a pressure sensitive IPS LCD, measuring 6.17-inch diagonally, at a resolution of 1080 x 2424. Aspect ratio is 18.7:9, contrast ratio is at 1500:1, and there’s 96% DCI-P3 color coverage. Moreover, there’s Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the front for added protection.

Hardware & Storage

As you’d expect, it packs a Snapdragon 845 SoC with eight Kryo 385 cores clocked at 2.8 GHz. It runs in tandem with an Adreno 630 and RAM comes in both 6 and 8 GB.

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Now this is where it gets interesting, you can get up to 1 TB internal storage along with an R1. There are four different variants available in total, which are 6 GB RAM with 64 GB storage, 6 GB RAM with 128 GB storage, going up a notch (no pun intended) you get 8 GB RAM with 128 GB storage, and then the top of the line variant has 8 GB RAM and 1 TB storage.

Camera & Software

On the rear, it has a dual set up consisting of two Sony sensors. The main IMX363 can shoot 12 MP photos, at f/1.8 aperture, and is aided by a 20 MP IMX350 f/1.75 lens. It also sports 4-axis OIS for the main camera. Front facing camera is an impressive 20 MP unit, boasting an f/2.0 aperture size.

It runs Android Oreo, with the company’s own UI on top.

Battery, Price, & Availability

The R1 has a 3600 mAh battery and it also supports Qualcomm’s latest Quick Charge 4+. It is among the first few phones to support this technology, and comes with a QC4+ compatible charger out of the box. Color options are Carbon Black and Pure White.

The price groups are as follows:

• 6GB RAM + 64GB – CNY3,499 (~Rs. 55,500)
• 6GB RAM + 128GB – CNY3,999 (~Rs. 63,000)
• 8GB RAM + 128GB – CNY4,499 (~Rs. 71,000)
• 8GB RAM + 1TB – CNY8,848 (~Rs. 140,000)

You can check out more details on Smartisan’s official website.

Smartisan R1 Specifications

• CPU: Octa-core 2.80 GHz Kryo 385
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
• OS: Android 8.1 Oreo
• Networks: 2G, 3G, 4G LTE
• Display:
  • 6.17-inch FHD+ (1080 x 2424 pixels)
  • 18.7:9 aspect ratio
• Memory:
  • RAM: 6/8 GB
  • Internal: 64/128 GB or 1 TB
  • Card Slot: yes, by up to 256 GB
• Camera: 
  • Primary: Dual: 12 MP (f/1.8) + 20 MP (f/1.75), 4-axis OIS, dual-tone LED flash, autofocus
  • Secondary: 24 MP, f/2.0, portrait mode, face recognition
• Connectivity: Type-C, Bluetooth, NFC, GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, LTE
• Fingerprint sensor
• No headphone jack
• Battery: 3600 mAh, QC4+
• Price: 
  • 6 GB/64 GB@~Rs. 55,500
  • 6 GB/128 GB@~Rs. 63,000
  • 8 GB/128 GB@~Rs. 71,000
  • 8 GB/1 TB@~Rs. 140,000