Asus Zenfone AR Review: Are its Features Worth the Price?

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The Asus Zenfone AR has a lot of surprising cool features. It even has the certification from Daydream and Google Tango. These two are virtual reality platforms for augmented reality, and they have set the standards when it comes to Android AR and VR. Let’s take a look at what the Asus Zenfone AR has to offer.

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When you ever decide to buy the Zenfone, you can get the Google Daydream View headset if you are going to pre-order it from Asus. The freebie is a great deal considering the price of this Zenfone. Take whatever freebie may come your way when you buy this phone! So far, the US pricing is somewhere around $650 at the time of this writing. Prices vary from country to country, and the US pricing is so far the most palatable one.

We begin to wonder if the Asus Zenfone AR is worth its price considering that it does not have the newest chipset. It has the Snapdragon 821 while the latest one is the 835. You can get the latest chipset with HTC U11, OnePlus 5, and the Samsung Galaxy S8 (US Version). Are we starting to see some red flags here? But not to worry, surely the Zenfone will unravel surprising features.

To start seeing what the Zenfone has to offer, you would have to disregard the price for a second and just focus on its features. You can expect the screen of the Zenfone to be great, and its camera array is excellent. A plus is that it’s one of the world’s best phones right now when it comes to VR. It beats the LG G6 and the Sony Xperia XZ Premium. It is a good match for the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus though. Let’s take a closer look at the Zenfone’s features.

Asus Zenfone AR Features

The release date of the Asus Zenfone AR was in January 2017. It is one of the first AR plus VR Google phones. Here are some of its features:

  • It has a triple rear camera that works for augmented reality.
  • It has an OLED screen that is quite large at 5.7 inches across and a resolution of 1440 x 2560.
  • It is surely a powerful phone although it is not the most powerful one. The competition is stiff, but you can be sure that the Zenfone is among those on top.
  • It is an important “first” because it is a phone that can launch with Daydream and Tango support.
  • The CPU of the Zenfone is high-end, with the Snapdragon 821, although it is not the top end.
  • It has a 64GB of storage and 6GB of RAM. There are some versions of the Zenfone though that has 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. Imagine what you can do with that much space!

Asus Zenfone AR – Upsides and Downsides

The Asus Zenfone AR is a phone for enthusiasts who are willing to shell out a good amount of money. The Zenfone may not be as striking as the Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus though. The Zenfone is also not curved. It is flat, which is reminiscent of phones from 2013. But is this something that would matter to you? You have to start asking the really important questions.

The Zenfone is not as stylish as we hope it would be, and for a phone at that price, there are some expectations about how it should look. But what it lacks in looks and style, it makes up for in the technology that it has.

If you look at the Zenfone closer, you will be able to see that it’s not that plain-looking as it seems at first glance. The sides are aluminum that has a smart finish. The back is not glass but rather, it has a leather-effect finish. It may not be real leather, but it almost looks and feels like one. You can be sure that it’s not a show-off kind of leather phone just like the LG G4.

The Zenfone is easy in the hands, and the makers did well in designing the handling of the phone. However, what pulls down the Zenfone is that it doesn’t have the impact visually for the price that it is trying to command.

Another thing that the Asus Zenfone AR doesn’t have is the water resistant feature, which is something that the Samsung Galaxy S8, the HTC U11, and the LG G6 have. They can all survive some good soaking.

As for the hardware, you get to have a finger scanner just below the phone’s screen. It acts just like a home button if you do not use it for finger security. There are light-up soft keys on either side as well. The Zenfone doesn’t have the fastest finger scanner. It is a bit slower than that of the Honor 9. But it’s not something that is very noticeable for most users.

You can place the nano sim in the tray on the side of the Zenfone that pops out. There is also a space for your microSD card. But would you still be needing one with the 64/128GB storage? That’s up to you.

Takeaway

With its current price, the Zenfone is not an ideal bargain there is when it comes to phones, especially if you just need one for calling, messaging, surfing the web, and the basic stuff. However, if you are an enthusiast, especially with the AR and VR features, then this is a phone that is worth considering. Remember, what it lacks in looks, it makes up for in its features.

The Zenfone may not be water-resistant just like the other phones of the same caliber, but you just have to be careful and take care of it. After all, its price commands that you should take care of it, otherwise, you’re just throwing money down the drain.

How about you, do you think the Asus Zenfone AR is worth it? Is this something you would buy if money isn’t an issue? Tell us what you think in the comments below!

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Marlouzel Mabunga

Article by Marlouzel

Marlouzel Mabunga is a freelance writer. She likes keeping up with the latest technology and trends. Apart from that, she writes about how people can earn through online work from home. Marlouzel loves to share her ideas through her writing. Her cat, Desmond, co-writes her articles by stepping and sleeping on the keyboard.

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