Asus on Wednesday announced the ZenFone AR and ZenFone 3 Zoom at CES 2017 in Las Vegas. The ZenFone AR is the world’s first smartphone with 8GB of RAM and both Tango and Daydream-ready, other variants of the AR+VR handset will also be launched, including the model with 6GB RAM.
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Asus ZenFone AR is definitely an interesting device as it integrates two different platforms into one single device. At the press event, Asus said “it has worked closely with Google to ensure the smartphone works perfectly with both Google Tango and Daydream platforms.” Both companies are partnering with well known brands to bring the Tango experience to consumers.
“We are excited to be the first to enable Tango and Daydream,” said Asus chairman Jonney Shih, as he unveiled the new 5.7-inch handset, which will be available in the second quarter of the year. Shih said the new phone “enables interactions with virtual objects” and offers the ability to watch a movie or play a game in virtual or augmented reality.
The only other handset using Project Tango is Lenovo’s Phab 2 Pro , which was released last year. Asus ZenFone AR is designed around machine vision with a camera and sensor setup that provides motion tracking, depth perception, and area learning.
Asus ZenFone AR sports a 5.7-inch (2560 x 1440 pixel) super AMOLED QHD display, making the experience wholesome when viewing content in virtual reality. Being a Google Tango-ready smartphone, the ZenFone AR features three cameras. ZenFone AR sports a 23-megapixel Sony IMX318 module with TriTech + autofocus system, dual-PDAF, second-gen Laser Focus, and continuous-focus. The rear camera features a 4-axis OIS (optical image stabilisation) as well as 3-axis EIS (electron image stabilisation) for video recording alongside support for 4K video recording.
Asus ZenFone AR is powered by high-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor that the company claims has been customised for Tango. Asus at the event confirmed that the company will have exclusive Asus ZenUI VR 360 degree app support on PhotoCollage, Gallery, and ZenCircle apps.
The ZenFone AR features a vapour cooling system to avoid overheating. It runs on Android 7.0 Nougat out-of-the-box. Asus also says the ZenFone AR is the thinnest project Tango smartphone in the world.