Asus has launched Zenfone AR at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017 in Las Vegas. The company had also unveiled ZenFone 3 Zoom with dual rear cameras and 2.3x optical zoom.
Talking about Asus Zenfone AR, it comes with Google’s Project Tango. The first phone with Tango platform, Lenovo Phab 2 Pro was launched in CES 2016. Other highlights of Zenfone AR are Snapdragon 821 processor, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB internal storage and 23 MP tri rear cameras.
Let us now take a look at the Pros & Cons and Common Queries about Asus Zenfone AR.
Pros
- 5.7 Super AMOLED display
- WQHD resolution
- Tango enabled phone
- TriCam system consisting a 23MP primary camera
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 SoC
- 6 GB / 8 GB LPDDR4 RAM
- Internal storage up to 256 GB
- 2 TB expandable memory & other options
- AR & VR and Daydream ready
Cons
- Relatively small battery for such a phone
- Hybrid microSD slot
Asus Zenfone AR Specifications
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Question- How is the Design and Build Quality?
Answer– Asus Zenfone AR has a 5.7 inch display with 79% screen-to-body ratio. It has metal edges and a plastic back with a leather-like texture for better grip. The Tango sensors are placed next to the rear camera at the back. The dimensions of the phone are 158.7 x 77.7 x 9 mm and it weighs around 170 grams.
Overall the phone has a very simple design with Tango sensors that look pretty hi-tech.
Question- How is the Display Quality ?
Answer– It features a 5.7 inches Super AMOLED display with a screen resolution of 1440 x 2560 pixels (WQHD) and pixel density of ~515 PPI. It comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection on the top. Special features include Tru2Life technology for high contrast & outdoor readability.
Question – What is Google’s Project Tango?
Answer – Tango is a augmented reality computing platform developed by Google. It uses computer vision to enable mobile devices to detect their position relative to the surroundings around them without using GPS or other external signals.
Question – What is the hardware used inside?
Answer– Zenfone AR is powered by a Quad-core processor (2×2.35 GHz Kryo & 2×1.6 GHz Kryo) with Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 821 chipset and Adreno 530 GPU.
It will reportedly come in many variants with 6 GB / 8 GB LPDDR4 RAM and 32/64/128/256 GB internal storage that will be expandable up to 2 TB through a hybrid microSD slot. The phone also has a vapor cooling system that prevents it from overheating.
Question – What is special about Snapdragon 821 Soc?
Answer – The Snapdragon 821 chipset comes with Qualcomm’s own Hexagon 680 DSP with HVX and Qualcomm’s All-Ways Aware sensor hub. These help in improving Tango-based computer vision use case.
Question – What are the Camera Specifications?
Answer– Asus Zenfone AR is equipped with three rear cameras, a a motion tracking camera, a depth sensing camera and a 23 MP primary camera with Sony IMX318 sensor, Dual-LED real tone flash, f/2.0 aperture, OIS (4-axis), EIS, 1/2.6″ sensor size, 1 µm pixel size, 3x zoom, phase detection autofocus and depth & motion tracking sensors. On the front it comes with 8 MP camera with Dual-LED real tone flash, 85˚ wide-viewing angle and f/2.0 aperture.
Question – Does it support 4K Video-Recording?
Answer– Yes, the primary camera supports 4K Video-Recording, while the front camera supports Full HD video recording.
Question- How is the camera performance on Asus Zenfone AR?
Answer– We have not tested the device yet.
Question – What are the battery specifications?
Answer- Zenfone AR is backed by a 3300 mAh Li-ion battery that is Non-removable.
Question – Does it support Fast charging?
Answer– Yes, it supports fast charging with Quick charge 3.0
Question- Does Asus Zenfone AR Have Dual SIM Slot?
Answer– Yes, the device comes with dual SIM card slot. However, it is a hybrid slot so you will only be able to use two SIMs or one SIM and one microSD card simultaneously.
Question – Does it have a 3.5 MM audio jack?
Answer– Yes, it is placed at the bottom.
Question – Does it have a USB type C port?
Answer– Yes, it is there alongside the audio jack.
Question- Does the Asus Zenfone AR Have microSD Expansion option?
Answer- Yes, up to 2 TB. In addition to that, it comes with ASUS web storage of 5GB that is free for life and 100GB free space on Google Drive for 2 years.
Question – Does it have a dedicated microSD slot?
Answer– No, it has a hybrid slot.
Question – What is the audio hardware in Asus Zenfone AR?
Answer – It is equipped with an inbuilt mono speaker that comes with 5 magnets, ASUS SonicMaster 3.0, DTS Headphone:X for virtual 7.1 surround sound and NXP Smart AMP technology that delivers up to 4X sound volume.
Question – What are the special features in Zenfone AR?
Answer- As mentioned earlier it is the second phone that comes with Google’s project Tango. In addition to that it is a Daydream ready phone that comes with both AR and VR capabilities.
Question – What is AR, VR and Daydream?
Answer- Augmented reality is a technology with which you can combine real and virtual world. VR is virtual reality that is very common nowadays. While daydream is a virtual reality platform developed by Google that is build into Android Nougat, with this you can experience high-quality, immersive virtual reality on your phone.
Question- Does the Asus Zenfone AR support Adaptive Brightness?
Answer– Yes, the device supports adaptive brightness.
Question- Which OS version, type runs on the phone?
Answer– It runs on Android 7.0 Nougat with Asus ZenUI 3.0 on top.
Question – Are navigation keys backlit?
Answer– Yes.
Question – What are the connectivity options ?
Answer– Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, WiFi Direct, Bluetooth v4.2, GPS with with A-GPS, GLONASS & BDS, NFC, USB v2.0, Type-C 1.0 reversible connector, 3.5mm jack and 4G with VoLTE.
Question – What are the sensors on board?
Answer– Fingerprint sensor, accelerometer, gyro, proximity, hall sensor, ambient light sensor, RGB sensor, IR sensor (Laser Focus), barometer and e-compass.
Question- Where is the fingerprint sensor located ?
Answer– It is inbuilt in the home button on the front.
Question- How much RAM is available for the user?
Answer– In 6 GB variant, around 3.2 GB is free for the user.
Question – What are the dimensions of the phone?
Answer– Its dimensions are 158.7 x 77.7 x 9 mm.
Question- How much does Asus Zenfone AR weigh?
Answer– It weighs around 170 grams.
Question- How is the Call quality?
Answer– We have not tested it yet.
Question- What Color Variants are available for Asus Zenfone AR?
Answer– Currently, it is expected to come in one color only, i.e charcoal black.
Question- Does it support VoLTE?
Answer– Yes, it supports VoLTE.
Question- Does the Asus Zenfone AR have heating issues?
Answer– We have not tested it yet. We will update you as and when we test the device.
Question- Can the Asus Zenfone AR be connected to a Bluetooth Headset?
Answer– Yes, it can be connected to a Bluetooth headset.
Question- Is Mobile Hotspot Internet Sharing Supported?
Answer– Yes, the device supports mobile data tethering/sharing.
Conclusion
Asus Zenfone AR is a next generation phone, that in the beginning of 2017, shows us how advanced this year is going to be. It has a premium build, top notch display, very good hardware, numerous RAM and storage options, latest OS, amazing camera (specswise), AR, VR and Google’s Tango. It has some shortcomings like small battery and hybrid microSD slot but still this phone can be seen as a leap into the future.
