Earlier this month, we got to know that Google confirmed that Asus ZenFone AR will be arriving sometime later this summer. During an interview with Engadget, ASUS CEO Jerry Shen confirmed that the timeframe of Asus ZenFone AR unavailability in Taiwan and the US. However, there is no information on the pricing of ASUS ZenFone AR smartphone.
The Asus ZenFone AR will be available for purchase in US in July while it will go on sale in Taiwan in mid-June. It is also to be noted that the smartphone will be carrier-exclusive to Verizon Wireless. This is the first time that a US carrier will be selling a smartphone that’s infused with Google’s Tango augmented reality (AR) technology.
Asus Zenfone AR is the second smartphone, after Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, which comes equipped with Google aspirational project, Tango. The smartphone also supports Google Daydream VR, which makes it the first smartphone to feature both Tango and Daydream technologies.
For those who are not aware, Tango is a technology platform developed and authored by Google that uses computer vision to enable mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, to detect their position relative to the world around them without using GPS, while Daydream is Google’s take on the high-quality mobile VR experience. Though Phab 2 Pro was the first device to come equipped with Tango it was let down with some mediocre specs, but the Zenfone AR is a true flagship device which comes with some insane specifications.
The device comes with a 5.7-inch WQHD Super AMOLED Display with a screen resolution of 2560×1440 pixels, which makes it an ideal device to run augmented reality apps. Under the hood, the Zenfone AR packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, which the company is optimised for Tango. Though Qualcomm unveiled its state-of-the-art Snapdragon 835 processor, Asus says that ZenFone AR was developed in close cooperation with Google to deliver the best Tango and Daydream experiences. The device is also the first to sport a whopping 8GB of RAM and the company has also promised that the device will come in different variants including a 6GB of RAM and storage option ranging from 32GB to up to 256GB.
The smartphone comes with a 23-megapixel Sony IMX318 rear camera, with usual Tango Sensors for motion tracking and depth sensing. The main camera also supports TriTech+ Autofocus system, dual-PDAF, second-gen Laser Focus, and continuous focus. The rear camera supports 4-axis OIS (optical image stabilisation) as well as 3-axis EIS (electronic image stabilisation) for video recording alongside support for 4K video recording. The device comes with an 8-megapixel front camera and is backed by a 3,300mAh battery. The smartphone runs on the latest Android 7.0 Nougat and supports Hi-Res Audio, DTS virtual surround sound, and a 5-magnet speaker.