Announced in 2014, Project Tango by Google was its early attempt at bringing AR (augmented reality) on smartphones. However, since it never gained popularity, Google has confirmed that it will be ending its Project Tango on March 1. It will be succeeded by ARCore, a new AR system by Google that was introduced in August this year.

As Project Tango is a hardware-reliant approach, smartphones based on Project Tango such as the ASUS ZenFone AR and Lenovo Phab 2 Pro were launched with special sensors to support AR. However, Google’s major rival Apple managed to bring AR on its iPhones without adding any special hardware. In other words, Apple brought a software solution to augmented reality and its ARkit has metamorphosed iOS into a huge AR platform.

Since the time Google had launched ARCore, it was speculated that the search giant may kill the Project Tango initiative. Today, the company has released an official statement on it on Tango’s Twitter handle. It has confirmed that the “Google is continuing AR development with ARCore.” Also, it has been taken down the Project Tango website.  Google had introduced the ARCore system by simply introducing AR stickers for Pixel and Pixel 2 phones. In the near future, the platform is expected to receive an OS-wide implementation.

Read More: Huawei Demonstrates iPhone X-Like 3D Facial Recognition Feature, Animated Emoji

The ASUS ZenFone AR that was announced at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017 in January was made available for buying starting from June. It is the first 8 GB RAM smartphone that carries support for both Project Tango AR and Daydream VR. Since Google has officially confirmed the shutting down of Project Tango, it may be soon available with discounted pricing.

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Asus ZenFone AR that is built for augmented reality is the first Tango enabled smartphone in the world that carries support for Daydream VR. The smartphone has been unleashed at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2017 tech exhibition. It was launched alongside Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom.

World’s  First Tango, Daydream Ready Smartphone

As mentioned above, the Taiwanese tech company has managed to unleash the ZenFone AR that supports Google Tango augmented reality technology though its TriCam system featuring three cameras for motion tracking, depth measuring and room mapping.

Tango with it set of sensors can measure space and motion like humans do. At present, there are only 35 AR apps available, but more apps are expected to roll out later this year.

At the launch event, Asus also demoed how the ZenFone AR can be used through GAP AR app to understand how garments fit on a model. The first AR smartphone, the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro launched in 2016 does not support Daydream VR. Asus ZenFone AR is also Google Daydream ready smartphone through which users can enjoy high-quality immersive virtual reality.

As of this writing, Tango AR and Daydream VR experience cannot be combined on Asus ZenFone AR. In other words, Daydream apps can be used only when the smartphone is present inside a Daydream VR headset and Tango apps can be used only when it is in Tango Mode.

Related: Asus ZenFone 3 Zoom Featuring Dual Cameras with 2.3X Zoom, 4 GB RAM, 5,000 mAh Battery is Official

Asus ZenFone 3 Specifications

The Asus ZenFone AR is fitted with a 5.7-inch quad HD display. It offers a screen-to-body ratio of 79 percent. It is powered by Snapdragon 821 chipset.

The ZenFone AR is also the first smartphone to come with 8 GB of RAM. It also comes in a 6 GB RAM model. The smartphone comes in four internal storage choices of 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB. It also carries support for external storage through microSD card.

The complicated set of cameras at its rear features a 23-megapixel high resolution camera with Sony IMX sensor and f/2.0 aperture. It comes with features like 4-axis OIS, EIS, RAW photography and dual LED flash. The 8-megapixel f/2.0 aperture selfie camera is also coupled with dual-LED real tone flash.

It runs on Android 7.0 Nougat customized with Zen UI 3.0. Other features include a USB Type-C port and a fingerprint scanner. It houses a 3,300 mAh battery with fast charging support.

Asus ZenFone 3 Price, Release Date

The Asus ZenFone AR release date is slated to happen in Q2 2017. As of this writing, there is no confirmation on which markets will be receiving it. Also, the ZenFone AR pricing has not been officially announced yet.

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Lenovo announced in January during the CES 2016 that it was teaming up with Google to manufacture the world’s first consumer Tango phone under Google’s Project Tango platform, thus giving birth to the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro. The Tango phone is capable of rendering augmented reality (AR) in real time, thanks to a team of rear cameras and a host of specialized tech on the inside.

The Phab 2 Pro was announced in June 2016 in the US and also became the first Lenovo-branded phone to come to the US. Now the Chinese edition of the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro has been spotted on TENAA, shedding more light on the specification which isn’t different from the US version.

The TENAA listing shows the smartphone has a thickness of 11.15mm, weighing in at 620g and it supports all networks. The Lenovo Phab 2 Pro Chinese Edition sports a 6.4-inch display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440p. The device also features a 4050mAh non-removable battery and comes in Gunmetal gray and Champagne Gold colors.

Furthermore, the Phab 2 Pro Chinese edition is powered by a Snapdragon 652 processor and comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. The Tango smartphone features a total of four cameras, an 8MP front facing “selfie” camera, a 16MP main camera at the rear, a depth camera and also a motion tracking camera. The depth camera and motion tracking cameras function only along with the main camera to enable the phone to detect the surrounding environment for the best AR experience.

The listing on TENAA should mean that the device will hit the Chinese market soon even though the price of the Phab 2 Pro Chinese edition isn’t known. The Lenovo Phab 2 Pro carries a price tag of 3300 yuan ($499) in the US, so the price may hover around 3299 yuan ($499) or 3499 yuan ($528) and is expected to enter the market this September. Hopefully, the Chinese edition of the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro will be released at the same time with the US edition.

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