After weeks of teasing, Asus finally announced the launch details of the company's Google Project Tango v2.0 smartphone Zenfone AR in India.
Asus India has started sending invitivations to the media for the product launch on July 13 with the message, "PUSH THE BOUNDARIES OF YOUR IMAGINATION" followed by hashtag "#DareToDream", highlighting the device's Augmented Reality (AR) capability.
Prior to the announcement, Asus India had released a poster on Facebook saying that the company will soon launch a new smartphone with 8 GB RAM. Zenfone AR is the only Asus mobile with this physical memory capacity.
Salient features of Asus Zenfone AR:
Google Project Tango (1st Gen) was developed by Lenovo and was dubbed as Phab 2 Pro. For the second generation, the search engine giant collaborated with Asus, and they named it Zenfone AR.
The new Zenfone AR boasts 23MP feature-rich snapper on the back and comes equipped with Google's Project Tango TriCam system featuring Motion tracking camera that lets the phone track its location as it moves through space. It also houses a depth-sensing camera with an infrared (IR) projector that lets ZenFone AR measure its distance from real-world objects.
It also comes with a set of advanced sensors and computer-vision software developed by Google that enables unique AR (Augmented Reality) user experiences on a smartphone, such as AR gaming, AR utilities, and indoor navigation. The phone also supports Google's Daydream platform for high quality, mobile virtual reality and Daydream VR (Virtual Reality) apps.
With such sophisticated software and hardware, Asus Zenfone AR owners will be able to enjoy immersive 3D-shopping experience on e-commerce websites.
For instance, in the US, Wayfair's in-house AR app allows shoppers to visualise furniture and décor in their homes at scale before making a purchase, tackling one of the biggest barriers in online shopping — the inability to get a good sense for a product's aesthetic and how it would fit in.
With AR technology, WayfairView app users can select a furniture from an extensive 3-D catalogue, and virtually preview items in any of their rooms through the lens of a smartphone.
Asus has promised that there will be more than 1,000 such AR and VR-ready applications on Google Play store.
The new Asus phone features top-of-the-line hardware. It comes with 5.7-inch WQHD screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 quad-core with 6GB/8GB RAM, 32GB/63GB/128GB/256GB internal storage, 8MP front camera and a 3300mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0.
Keep an eye on this space for latest updates on Google and Asus products
Key specifications of Asus Zenfone AR:
| Models | Asus Zenfone AR |
| Display | 5.7-inch WQHD (2560x1440p) super AMOLED screen
Touch:
|
| OS | Android 7.0 with brand-new ASUS ZenUI 3.0 |
| Processor | 2.35GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 (Kryo cores x 4) quad-core |
| GPU | Adreno 530 |
| RAM | 6GB/8GB LPDDR4 |
| Storage | 32GB / 64GB / 128GB / 256GB (UFS v2.0), expandable up to 2TBSpecial offer:
|
| Camera | Main:
TriCam System for Tango:
Front:
|
| Pixel Master 3.0 camera mode | Back Light (HDR) Mode, Low Light Mode, Manual Mode (for DSLR-like camera detail settings), Real Time Beautification Mode, Super Resolution Mode (for up to 4X resolution photos), Night Mode, Depth of Field Mode, Photo Effect Mode, Selfie Panorama, Selfie Mode, GIF Animation Mode, Panorama Selfie Mode, Miniature Mode, Time Rewind Mode, Smart Remove Mode, All Smiles Mode, Slow Motion Mode, Time Lapse Mode, Panorama Mode |
| Battery | 3300mAh (non-removable)
|
| Network | 4G-LTE |
| Add-ons | Google's Daydream VR platform compatible Fingerprint sensor, dual-SIM (type: nano), Bluetooth v4.2, Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac; dual-band: 5GHz & 2.4GHz 2x2 MIMO support), A-GPS, GLONASS/BDS, USB Type –C 2.0, 3.5mm audio jack, NFC (Near Field Communication)Audio:
|
| Dimensions | 158.67 x 77.7 x 4.6 ~ 8.95 mm |
| Weight | 170g |
| Colours | Leather-like finish : Charcoal Black Premium-crafted metallic diamond-cut |
