Asus ZenFone AR serves up Google Tango and Daydream VR in one phone (hands-on)

If you've ever wanted to try virtual or augmented reality, Asus has a phone that does both. It also might hint at where more phones are likely to be headed over the next few years.

Previously leaked by Qualcomm, the Asus ZenFone AR is indeed real and coming later this year (by the end of the second quarter, in fact -- no pricing details yet). The phone is compatible with Google's
Daydream View VR headset and apps, but it also has a revamped tri-camera system that can achieve depth sensing 3D scanning and augmented reality through Google Tango.

The only other Tango phone in existence is the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, a huge 6-plus-inch monster phone we reviewed last year and had mixed feelings about. Tango's AR is promising, but it's a work in progress.

The ZenFone AR, however, has a little more going on under the hood. It has a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, and boasts a "vapor cooling" system to keep the whole phone from overheating when running VR and AR. Or, maybe, both at once. According to Asus, the processor is optimized for computer vision and "six degrees of freedom" tracking, which refers to the motion-tracking and smart camera features that make Tango AR work.

It's also smaller than Lenovo's first Tango phone, with a 5.7-inch screen. Part of that is due to a trimmed-down Tango camera design: a "Tri-Cam" system combines motion, depth-sensing and a 23-megapixel camera into a smaller housing on the back. It makes a difference. The Phab 2 Pro was heavy and thick; the ZenFone AR feels so light and slim, we almost questioned whether it had the battery inside (it did).


But our hands-on time with the ZenFone AR left us cold and unmoved. Asus hadn't loaded the demo devices with any of the AR apps shown on stage during the phone's unveiling. In fact, there were no AR apps at all. So while the ZenFone AR is remarkably slim and light, it's impossible to say if using Tango and Daydream together on a phone broadens our experience using a phone -- we'll be forced to wait for a review unit to find out.

Bridging the gap

Still, we can speculate. The ZenFone AR could bridge the gap between augmented and virtual. Tango and Daydream were brought under one umbrella last year, and it seems like Google's intent is to explore how both will involve each other.

Down the road, VR-ready phones equipped with position-tracking advanced cameras could enable further blending of virtual and real. For comparison, look at the Occipital Bridge, a mixed-reality iPhone headset that can do things like 3D-scan rooms and display them as VR experiences with virtual objects added. Google hasn't announced any deeper plans for Tango and Daydream intersections yet.

There aren't many killer Tango apps either, but there are a growing set of good Daydream VR apps including YouTube, Netflix, Street View and EA's Need for Speed. Apps, along with Google's support of both platforms, will determine how useful a blend of Tango and Daydream on a phone will really be.

Specifications and features

5.7-inch Super AMOLED display (2,560x1,440 pixels)
Android 7.0 Nougat
6GB RAM
Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor
23-megapixel camera (Sony IMX318 image sensor) with four-axis OIS and three-axis video stabilization, 4K video recording, improved low light mode