The ASUS ZenFone AR which was first announced back at CES 2017, is now available for purchase in Taiwan. It is the world’s first smartphone to be able to support both Daydream and Tango. Google’s VR and AR platforms. However, if you are residing in Taiwan and planning on picking one up for yourself, it should be noted that the device comes with a premium price tag of 24,990 New Taiwan Dollars ($825). This is more expensive than most of the newly released flagships of the year.
While the ASUS ZenFone AR was the first smartphone to pack 8GB of RAM when it was revealed at CES 2017, one other device packing the same amount of RAM has been released since then. The smarphone in question happens to be the Nubia Z17 and it comes with a much lower price tag of $587. However, it is unknown whether the device comes with support for Daydream or Tango. Nonetheless, the ASUS ZenFone AR is packed to the brim with premium specs, including a 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED display. Under the hood, it is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, and not the Snapdragon 835 chipset. Memory wise, it comes with either 6GB of RAM or 8GB of RAM, though only the latter is available for purchase at the moment. The handset comes in four storage variants of 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and 256GB, all of which are expandable. Keeping the lights on is a 3,300mAh non-removable battery.
The most interesting part of the ASUS ZenFone AR happens to be on its rear, where three cameras are situated. This is due to the fact that Tango requires multiple cameras to function. Two cameras are for Tango, whereby one measures depth and the other measures motion. The third camera is a 23-megapixel shooter and comes with a number of features like 4-axis OIS, EIS and 3x zoom. It is assisted by a dual LED flash. Selfies are handled by an 8-megapixel shooter and a dual LED flash. The ASUS ZenFone AR is also slated to be available for purchase in North America in July, though pricing details are not available yet.