Unlocked Asus Zenfone AR is available for $599 and up (with up to 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage)

Verizon may be the only US wireless carrier selling the Asus Zenfone AR. But it turns out you don’t need to be a Verizon customer to buy the first smartphone to support both Google’s Tango and Daydream platforms.

Amazon is selling an unlocked version of the phone for $599 and up. Note that this model is a GSM pone, which means it supports AT&T and T-Mobile, but not Verizon or Sprint.

The $599 starting price gets you a phone with 6GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. But you can also pay $699 for an 8GB/128GB model.

The phone features a 5.7 inch, 2560 x 1440 pixel display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor, a 3,300 mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 support, and a microSD card slot.

On the front of the phone there’s an 8MP camera, and on the back there’s a 23MP shooter. But it’s the depth-sensing and motion tracking cameras that are also on the back of the phone that make the Zenfone AR unusual.

It’s only the second smartphone to ship with support for Google’s Tango platform, which lets the phone measure distances and create 3D maps of real-world environments. Tango-enabled apps let you superimpose virtual objects in real-world scenes so you can play games using your living room furniture as a playing field… or see what your room would look like if you painted the walls or changed out your kitchen appliances.

Lenovo’s Phab 2 Pro also supports Tango technology, but that phone does not support Google’s Daydream virtual reality platform.

Of course, Apple is starting to show that maybe you don’t need special cameras to create really cool augmented reality experiences. So it’s unclear what kind of future there is for Tango-enabled devices like the Zenfone AR and Lenovo Phab 2 Pro.

via Droid Life