The ASUS ZenFone AR, a Google Tango-supported phone that was first introduced back in January at CES, has finally arrived in the US as a Verizon exclusive. We knew the phone was coming exclusively to Verizon because Google and ASUS told us as much back at Google I/O, but we thought it would happen sooner than this. Either way, we’re here!
UPDATE: It’s now live and available for purchase without pre-order. Go ahead and buy this AR/VR beast if you want.
The device isn’t officially for sale on Verizon’s main site just yet – you can pre-order it, though. All you have to do is hit up that link below and the ZenFone AR can be yours for $27/month on a device payment plan or $648 full retail. That’s not a bad price for the capabilities here.
As a recap, the ZenFone AR sports a 5.5-inch QHD AMOLED display, Snapdragon 821 processor, 6GB RAM (original model had 8GB – Verizon says theirs is 6GB), 128GB storage (with SD slot), 3300mAh battery, and all the damn cameras in the world. Remember, this is the first phone that supports both Google’s Tango and Daydream. It could be the ultimate AR and VR machine you’ve been looking for. The ZenFone AR has 3 cameras on the back, one for motion tracking, another for depth sensing, and a third that’s a high-res 23MP shooter.
Wondering when the phone will ship if this is a pre-order? We could see the phone up for sale at Verizon’s site as early as tomorrow, according to a tipster. If you are worried about it, just give it a few hours. Verizon might post this bad boy live by midnight.
I’m interested in this but afraid that between Verizon and asus it will never see software updates
I’m strangely attracted to this device…
Must be the front of the phone and its Galaxy resemblance of yesteryear…
5.7 inches droid life not 5.5 inches
Says 5.7″ screen on Verizon site
If the camera and ui are legit I’d absolutely try it out, but I can’t believe there’s no early deal that Verizon normally does on monthly payments.
I wonder what the likeliness is off this ever seeing software updates. Exclusive carrier, proof of concept phone, from Google. It just doesn’t seem likely. But for a year or so, it could be a really fun phone?
This has early EOL/orphan device written all over it!
This isn’t bad at all. The only negative is Verizon exclusive and last year’s processor. Besides that this could be the beginning of more Asus phones on Verizon. More options for people that still buy carrier phones is a good thing. Maybe Asus will decide to sell unlocked phones that are compatible in the future with Verizon.
Nobody is walking into a VZW store looking for this phone…. DOA. If Google isn’t going to advertise their platforms they’ll just die…like Tango will.
Salespeople have a hard time recommending something that may get quickly returned, too. Verizon stores seem to push 50% iPhone, 40% Samsung, then everything else.
Being the go-to tech for anyone NEAR my family circle I can support this as it’s basically what I push most onto unless I feel they are more capable of using their smart phone for other things besides texting and GPS, and aren’t likely to need help for everything up to and sometimes including powering on the phone (serious issue once that had me studdering speechless at the how and why). So iPhone and Samsung are just the easiest for most and not likely to make issues.
To expand on that, Joe cell phone user at the red store aren’t even going to know this phone exists, thanks to exactly ZERO marketing budget. Apple and Samsung (and LG to an extent) are really the only three plyers spending marketing dollars. I realize I don’t watch a lot of commercials (DVR #FTW), but I can’t even tell you the last time I saw an HTC commercial. An ASUS commercial? Not sure I’ve EVER seen an ASUS commercial.
I’m hoping DL will do a full review on this one. I’m curious as to the maturity of Tango and whether it’s ready for prime time.
Zen154
Care106s
Snapdragon 821 & less than a 4000 mAh battery? Lulz.
I dunno man, I’m actually excited about this!
yes yes and next year you’ll be saying ” Snapdragon 385? what garbage!” even though today you’d suck its’ dick if it had one.
Assume you mean the 835, you cretin. The 821 does not have enough power for what this phone is capable of. And the battery size will not get you through an entire day if you use any AR games/apps for an extended time.
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