Asus ZenFone AR Google Tango Smartphone Set to Launch at CES 2017: Report

Asus may be the next smartphone manufacturer to launch Google Tango-ready smartphone. According to a report citing Asus CEO Jerry Shen, the company is gearing to launch the 'ZenFone AR' at CES 2017.

Shen was cited to say the 'ZenFone AR will come with advanced functionality and performance at a competitive price.' The Taiwanese company is expected to showcase the Google Tango-enabled device at CES next year, reports Digitimes, though there's no word on whether the company will work on multiple smartphones or just one like Lenovo.

For those unaware, Google's Project Tango is centred on machine vision, with a camera and sensor setup that provides motion tracking, depth perception, and area learning. This can enable augmented reality applications like indoor navigation, search, and gaming.

Shen also claimed that the ZenFone 4 range of smartphones will be unveiled in the "second quarter of 2017". He teased that the new models will feature improved camera. Shen also acknowledged that Asus suffered loss due to "lower than expected shipments".

Earlier this month, the world's first Tango smartphone - the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro - finally went on sale priced at $499 (roughly Rs. 33,300). It is the first commercial product from Google's Project Tango team that was working on machine vision in mobile devices.

The Lenovo Phab 2 Pro features a 6.4-inch QHD IPS display, and a total of four cameras. It bears an 8-megapixel front camera, a 16-megapixel rear RGB camera, a depth-sensing infrared camera with an imager and an emitter, as well as a motion tracking camera. At launch, a special Tango app store was also revealed that was ready with 25 apps, with the hope to reach 100 apps by year-end.