ASUS ZenFone AR Supports Google Tango & Is Daydream-Ready!

A number of companies want to get ahead of its competition with innovative designs to unveil during the CES. In this case, Asus' partnet Qualcomm spilled the beans a little too early for the big announcement on Wednesday. The ASUS ZenFone AR was revealed to support Google Tango and is Daydream capable.

According to The Verge, news about the ASUS Zenfone AR was divulged by a Qualcomm Snapdragon Blog post, days before the big CES announcement by ASUS. Qualcomm quickly took down the post, but not before GSM Arena spotted and took a screenshot of the unveiling. The news did confirm that ASUS will reveal the ZenFone AR during CES 2017.

It seems that the ASUS ZenFone AR will follow suit Lenovo's Phab 2 Pro, the very first phone able to support Google Tango. The Lenovo Phab 2 Pro ran on Snapdragon 625 processor. But according to Qualcomm, the ASUS ZenFone AR will run on Snapdragon 821 processor. This will be much the same chipset that Google Pixel, OnePlus 3T, and ASUS ZenFone 3 house.

For those unfamiliar with Google Tango, this used to be called "Project Tango." This is Google's version of augmented reality that holds a lot of promise but needs major work.

Further, Qualcomm also noted that the ASUS ZenFone AR will be Google Daydream-ready. This suggests that the smartphone will be compatible with Google's Daydream View headset. If these specs were true, this will be the first phone in the market to support both Tango and Daydream in one unit.

Engadget reported that ASUS ZenFone AR might support Daydream VR versions of YouTube, Netflix, Google Street View, Hulu, and HBO and games such as "Need for Speed," "Gunjack 2," and "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

Photos of the front and back of the ASUS ZenFone AR were posted by @evleaks on his official Twitter account.

ASUS ZenFone AR (2nd Google Tango phone) pic.twitter.com/ctKQ9IKfeC

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) January 2, 2017

Qualcomm’s blog post reads: “The ZenFone AR with Snapdragon 821 is built for VR with a high-resolution display, ultra-smooth graphics and high-fidelity sensors for precise head tracking. Snapdragon 821 provides the cutting-edge visual, audio and interactive technologies required to deliver a truly immersive mobile VR experience for leading Android smartphones.”

ASUS will most likely reveal most of the other specs details and pricing of the ASUS ZenFone AR during the CES press con on Wednesday, Jan. 4. Until then, stay tuned.