After launching the Zenfone Live smartphone in India last month, now it seems like the Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer Asus is all set to launch its first 8GB RAM-powered smartphone, called the “Asus Zenfone AR” in the Indian tech market pretty soon. Asus India on Monday shared a teaser video about the upcoming flagship device on its official social media accounts including Facebook and Twitter. The Tweet reads, “We’re ready to change the way you see smartphones. The world’s first 8GB RAM phone is all set to land in India. #StayTuned”. But sadly, the tweet does not disclose the exact date, time and venue of the upcoming Asus Zenfone AR smartphone launch event.
We’re ready to change the way you see smartphones. The world’s first 8GB RAM phone is all set to land in India. #StayTuned pic.twitter.com/fvhMNv0hU4
— ASUS India (@ASUSIndia) June 19, 2017
To recall, the Asus Zenfone AR was first announced at Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2017 in Las Vegas. The smartphone is now already made available for purchase in Taiwan and it is expected to hit the other markets in the coming days. The announcement comes into the light when another 8GB RAM powered OnePlus 5 is set to make its debut in the Indian smartphone market at 4:30pm IST on Thursday, June 22.
Asus ZenFone AR is the world’s second smartphone to support both the Google’s Tango technology and Daydream VR software. The key highlights of the smartphone are its Super AMOLED display, 23-megapixel rear camera, and DTS virtual surround sound system.
Google’s Tango technology – a set of software and specially calibrated group of embedded sensors developed by Google that detects and maps immediate surroundings to enable a host of smartphone AR (Augmented reality) experiences possible. Asus ZenFone AR is the second smartphone (after Lenovo Phab-2 Pro) to come with depth perception and 3D mapping (the device analyse the shape of the world around it by detecting surfaces and obstacles), motion tracking (Asus Zenfone AR sees its own location in 3D) and area learning (tells the smartphone its location) technologies. All this is meant for AR applications like indoor navigation, search, and gaming which help the device understand the world around you.
In terms of specifications, Asus Zenfone AR comes equipped with a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED QHD display with a resolution of 2560×1440 pixels and a scratch resistance Corning Gorilla Glass 4 coating on top. The device is powered by a 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 quad-core processor coupled with an Adreno 530 GPU to handle the graphics. In terms of memory, the Asus Zenfone AR is backed by a 6GB/8GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB/256GB of internal storage, which can be further expanded via a dedicated microSD card slot. Talking about its software front, the device runs Google’s Android 7.0 Nougat operating system out-of-the-box.
In terms of optics, the Asus Zenfone AR sports a 23-megapixel Sony IMX318 rear camera sensor with f/2.0 aperture, 4-axis optical image stabilisation (OIS), PDAF, LED flash, Depth & Motion-tracking sensors, 3-axis EIS (electronic image stabilisation), and 4K video recording support. On the front, there is an 8-megapixel front-facing shooter with an 85-degree wide angle lens and an f/2.0 aperture for capturing selfies and making video calls.
In terms of connectivity, the Asus ZenFone AR is a dual-SIM smartphone that accepts Micro SIM + Nano SIM. Other connectivity options on the device include 4G voLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, hotspot, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/A-GPS/GLONASS, FM radio, USB OTG, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB Type-C port for superfast charging and data transfer. On the battery front, Asus Zenfone AR packs a non-removable 3,300mAh battery with Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 support for fast charging. Sensors on the smartphone include an Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Proximity, E-Compass and a front-mounted Fingerprint sensor. The Asus ZenFone AR also features a full metal body design with a five-magnet speaker that builds for High-Res Audio and DTS virtual surround sound. Dimensionally, the handset measures 158.7 x 77.7 x 9mm and weighs 170 grams.