The Asus Zenfone AR is a unique handset that comes packed with high end features and it is also the world’s first smartphone to come packed with Google Daydream and Tango technologies. This Zenfone AR review will give you better idea about the performance, camera, the new technologies and the battery life.

Key highlight about the Asus Zenfone AR is the tri camera system on the back. There is a 23MP camera, a depth sensing camera and a motion tracking camera. The 5.7 inch Super AMOLED screen with 2K display is perfect for VR experience.

And the Snapdragon 821 is a well known chipset that is powerful, smooth and can process high end applications with ease. Users can play high end games, heat up is under control and battery life is decent. Add to it the Zenfone AR comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB ROM.

Asus Zenfone AR box

Asus Zenfone AR features, specifications

Inside the box (unboxing the Asus Zenfone AR) :  Handset, user manual, plastic case, SIM ejector pin, premium quality earphone, data cable (USB to USB Type C) and travel charger 9V/2A.
Body : Build and finishing is very good, handset is using a metal frame, the back is curvy and using a textured material that feels good, give a very good grip and is quite comfortable
SIM Type : Nano SIM + Nano SIM / Micro SD card slot (hybrid)
Weight and Dimensions : 170 grams, 8.9mm
Screen  :  5.7 inches, Super AMOLED, 2560 x 1440 pixels resolution. Color reproduction, viewing angles are excellent, screen comes with corning gorilla glass 4 protection
Connectivity :  4G, VoLTE, WiFi, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth
Sensors : Accelerometer, Proximity, light, magnetic, Gyro sensor, hall and step
LED Notification : Yes
OTG : Yes supported
RAM : 8GB (about 4.9GB free on first boot)
ROM : 128GB (about 110GB+ free on first boot)
Micro SD : Yes 2TB MAX
OS : Asus ZenUI 3.0 based on Android 7.0

Asus Zenfone AR review

Asus Zenfone AR Performance

CPU :  Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 Quad Core 2.3 GHz
GPU :  Adreno 530 GPU
Heating : Medium
Max Battery Temperature : 36 degrees

Overall performance was smooth, no lags, games played well, smooth and heat up was under control.

Asus Zenfone AR back

Asus Zenfone AR Benchmark

Antutu : 151945 / 61389
NenaMark3 :  58.43fps (1-3)
Multi Touch : 10 points
Disk Speed :  423 MB/s read  and 161 MB/s write

Asus Zenfone AR Gaming Review

Asphalt 8 and Modern Combat 5 games played really well, no issues, game play was very smooth.

Asus Zenfone AR design

Asus Zenfone AR Camera  Review

Rear Camera : 23MP, auto focus, flash, f/2.0, SONY IMX 318, 4 axis Optical Image Stabilization, dual tone LED flash
Front Camera : 8MP, f/2.0
Video Recording : 4K at 30fps, 3 axis electronic image stabilization

This handset though comes with tri camera system, the primary camera is of 23MP resolution.  Camera quality is excellent, does a very good job in low light conditions, the selfie part is also pretty good.

Asus Zenfone AR back

This handset can shoot 4K videos. There is EIS Electronic Image stabilization it is not that effective.

Camera Rating : 4 out of 5

Asus Zenfone AR camera Samples

Asus Zenfone AR rear camera leaves Asus Zenfone AR rear camera hydrant Asus Zenfone AR rear camera long shot Asus Zenfone AR rear camera night Asus Zenfone AR rear camera night mode Asus Zenfone AR front camera selfie

Other features

There is finger print sensor on the front, fast and accurate. Two key features that define the Asus Zenfone AR is the Tango Technology and the Google Daydream.

Google Daydream

For this you need the Google Daydream VR headset that comes with a Bluetooth remote, the hardware is perfect and with the Google Daydream VR the experience is a lot different, different from what you experience from a normal VR devices. Check video review.

Tango AR

Tango makes use of AR – augmented reality. In simple words you can play around with a virtual object that the device will place in the real word. For this to work the Tri cam system is needed. So the virtual object and the real world kind of becomes one and you can see that only via this handset.

Another important thing is that this technology can detect distance, depth etc, so for example if you have a virtual pet playing on the floor and you want the pet to come on the bed or height-ed area, it actually jumps, pretty impressive – check video to see this in action.

Asus Zenfone AR  Battery Review

Battery capacity : 3300 mAh (removable)
Charging Time : Charge – 2 hours using the charger provided 0 to 100%
Battery Life : 4 to 7 hours non-stop (moderate to heavy)
Daily usage battery life : Just about one day of mixed usage

Battery Test Results

Battery Temp at idle : 31 degrees
Running Benchmark app :
 15 minutes / 4% / 34 degrees
Mc5 + Asphalt 8  game play : 24 minutes / 9% / 36 degrees
4K video playback with full brightness (WiFi /4G on) :  26 minutes / 6% / 33 degrees

Verdict

Asus Zenfone AR is a different handset using futuristic technology. There are a lot of AR related apps you can use. This Tango Technology can also be used for interior designing, civil work, for checking how the furniture will look before buying, trying a new dress without actually wearing them and more.

Having said that the handset is really good, battery is okay apart from that no issues as such. This handset is pricey but considering the technology that it incorporates, makes no sense complaining about the price.

Rating : 4 out of 5

Asus Zenfone AR price in India is Rs. 49,999.

By Rajeev Rana

Founder and Chief Editor - gogi.in