The SoC is paired with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM. It will be interesting to see how this cooling solution works and if it proves sufficient to keep the SoC from throttling during heavy use.
Because of the high demands placed on all the processors inside the SoC (CPU, GPU, DSP, ISP) when running AR and VR applications, the ZenFone AR includes a heat pipe to help keep things cool. The Hexagon DSP provides the six degree of freedom position tracking used by Tango. Inside the ZenFone AR is a Snapdragon 821 SoC that includes two of Qualcomm’s custom Kryo CPU cores running at up to 2.35GHz and another two Kryo cores that can reach 2.19GHz. The front camera uses an 8MP sensor and includes its own LED selfie flash.ġ3MP, 1/3.06" Sony IMX214 Exmor RS, 1.12µm pixels, f/2.0, screen flashġ2MP, 1/2.5” Sony IMX362 Exmor RS, 1.4µm pixels, f/1.7, 25mm focal length, 2PDAF + Laser AF, OIS, color spectrum sensor, HDR, dual-tone LED flashĢ3MP, 1/2.6” Sony IMX318 Exmor RS, 1.10µm pixels, f/2.0, 2PDAF + Laser AF, 4-axis OIS, color spectrum sensor, HDR, dual-tone LED flashĨ02.11a/b/g/n/ac, BT 4.1, GPS/GNSS, USB 2.0 Type-C, 3.5mm headsetĨ02.11a/b/g/n/ac (2x2 MIMO), BT 4.2, NFC, GPS/GNSS, USB Type-C, 3.5mm headset ASUS claims the camera can focus in as little as 0.03 seconds in ideal conditions. It also has 4-axis OIS to help steady the camera during long exposures, a color spectrum sensor to improve white balance accuracy, and a hybrid autofocus system that combines dual-pixel phase detection (2PDAF), laser, and contrast based AF that should provide good performance in a range of lighting conditions. The phone’s AR and imaging experiences are enabled by ASUS’ TriCam system that combines a motion tracking camera, a depth camera that’s paired with an infrared illuminator, and a 23MP Sony IMX318 Exmor RS primary camera paired with an f/2.0 lens.
Tango, which has been in development for some time and recently debuted in Lenovo’s Phab 2 Pro, gives the ZenFone AR motion tracking, depth perception, and environment mapping capabilities, allowing you to do things like measure physical objects, play new interactive games, or view maps and other relevant data overlaid on the environment shown on the phone’s 5.7-inch QHD SAMOLED screen. The ZenFone AR is the first smartphone that supports both Google’s Tango AR technology and Daydream VR. Each phone has an array of cameras that provide advanced imaging features such as simulated depth of field and augmented reality (AR). ASUS recently announced two new smartphones: the ZenFone AR and ZenFone 3 Zoom.