The ZenFone AR feels better than it should

ASUS had a subdued kind of CES this year, announcing just two new products on-stage during its press conference, the ZenFone AR and ZenFone 3 Zoom. Each phone offers its own brand of innovation: For instance, the ZenFone 3 Zoom has two cameras, a powerful 5,000mAh battery and a range of professional-grade photography options. However, the ZenFone AR is the real star of ASUS’ show. It’s the first phone to offer both Google Tango and Daydream capabilities, helping to usher in a new era of consumer-focused augmented reality.

The ZenFone AR is surprisingly thin and light for the amount of processing it has to do. It feels no different and no bulkier than, say, an iPhone 6 Plus. That’s impressive, considering this thing has 8GB RAM, three camera sensors and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 821 processor all wrapped up under a 5.7-inch AMOLED display.

The other Tango-enabled phone on the market, the Phab2 Pro, offers a counterpoint to the ZenFone AR’s slim design — it’s rather enormous and unwieldy.

Once it’s placed in the Google Daydream VR headset, the ZenFone AR sticks out just a tad around the edges, but it fits comfortably overall. For AR, there’s no headset required, and ASUS showed off a few apps that meld the virtual world with reality, including one from clothing company Gap that lets users “try on” outfits on mannequins depicting various body types.

We didn’t get a chance to try out the AR capabilities for ourselves — the demo units at CES were running an older version of Android that didn’t support Tango — but if it lives up to the hype, the ZenFone AR should be a solid introduction into the wild world of mixed reality.

Kyocera’s DuraForce Pro may be the best affordable rugged phone at Verizon

Kyocera’s latest rugged phone has a built-in action camera.

Kyocera unveiled the DuraForce Pro back in August, and the phone is now up for sale at Verizon for $408 outright or $17 per month for 24 months.

The latest in Kyocera’s range of rugged phones, the DuraForce Pro offers a wide-angle view action camera that shoots at 1080p. The body itself is shockproof, drop-proof, and dustproof, and can withstand being submerged in water up to two meters for 30 minutes. It also has the MIL-STD-810 rating for protection against dust, shock, extreme temperatures, vibration, humidity, and more.

In terms of the hardware, the DuraForce Pro features a 5-inch Full HD display with a Sapphire Shield coating that’s exclusive to Verizon, octa-core Snapdragon 617, 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage, microSD slot, 13MP rear camera with 135-degree field of view, 5MP front shooter, and a 3200mAh battery. There’s a fingerprint sensor embedded in the power button on the side, and you’ll be able to operate the screen with gloves on.

On the software side of things, it runs Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. Overall, the DuraForce Pro is a great choice if you’re in the market for a rugged device with a slew of features. The phone is also up for sale at AT&T for $418 or $13.97 a month for 30 months. If you’re a Sprint customer, you’ll be able to pick it up for $432 outright or $18 a month for 24 months.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says smartphones need to cost as little as $30 in India

Google CEO wants entry-level smartphones to be available for as low as $30.

During a visit to India, Google CEO Sundar Pichai paid a visit to his alma mater, IIT Kharagpur, where he addressed a congregation of over 3,500 students. Speaking at the event, Pichai said that the cost of entry-level smartphones needs to come down to ₹2,000 ($30) to boost adoption in India:

I would love to see cheaper smartphones, entry-level smartphones. I think to really we need to bring the prices down even more, maybe at $30 level (about Rs. 2,000) for India for entry level smartphones.

The country is one of the fastest-growing smartphone markets in the world, and with the likes of Jio offering free 4G services, there has been a sharp uptick in smartphone sales in recent months. Google itself rolled out phones in the $100 segment with the Android One program a few years ago, but the company failed to attract any considerable interest from consumers.

Pichai added that local language support is another key area of focus in getting more people online. Although English is one of 22 official languages spoken in the country, its usage is limited to urban centers:

English is spoken only by a small segment of the overall population. So just getting Google to work in other languages is a big focus.

We have made progress today in Android, with search, we support many languages but we want to do all that better so that it works even in rural situations with the right dialects and so on.

Pichai also announced the Digital Unlocked initiative earlier this week in Delhi, which sees Google providing free training courses and marketing tools to get local businesses online.

Fitbit’s personal fitness and goal-setting features just got a lot more useful

At CES 2017, Fitbit has announced a load of new features coming to its app in the next few months that should make using its trackers a much more personal experience. On deck is an all-new social experience, along with new personal goal setting features and more.

Perhaps the biggest changes are in the revamped social experience, which will come in the form of a new Community section of the app. In the Community section, you’ll be able to check out a social feed where you can connect with friends and family and do everything from sharing your achievements to discovering new workouts. Think of it like a sort of Facebook feed specifically for fitness. The Community section also makes it easy to see how your friends are doing at a glance and even discover communities to join from a dedicated Groups portion.

If you’re one for setting goals and sticking to them, Fitbit’s new personal goal setting features should be a delight too. Here’s a look at what to expect:

• Personal Goal Setting in the Fitbit app provides a step-by-step guided process to help create achievable goals based on insights from your data and health and fitness objectives.
• Define your health and fitness objectives by identifying your focus areas like steps, exercise, sleep, nutrition, or weight, and answering questions that help establish the motivation behind your goals.
• Get personalized recommendations based on your objectives and historical Fitbit data. For example, if your motivation is to get more fit and your data shows you walk an average of 9,200 steps per day, Fitbit may recommend setting a higher goal of 10,000 steps per day.

Finally, a new firmware update will be making its way to the Fitbit Blaze, adding some nifty new stuff to check out. Once it lands, you’ll be able to use your Blaze to check out your cardio fitness level, based on your VO2 max. The update will also bring guided breathing sessions, a feature that’s also available on the Fitbit Charge 2.

As for availability, the Community tab is set to hit the Fitbit app in March, while Personal Goal Setting should arrive for existing users sometime in January. Meanwhile, the Fitbit Blaze firmware update is set to land in February. It’s also worth noting that Fitbit today released a redesigned version of its Fitstar Personal Trainer app, which is available for Android.

Download Fitstar Personal Trainer (free)

Hands-on with the awesome ASUS Chromebook Flip C302

ASUS has a brand new Chromebook Flip, and it’s one of the best, and best-looking, Chromebooks we’ve seen to date.

The ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 may cost more than the average Chrome OS device, but that’s because the Taiwanese company has gone all-in on the future, including a powerful Intel Core chip, up to 8GB of RAM, and USB-C ports.

We’ve gone hands-on with this new metal marvel, and we’re excited to get it in our hands to try it out. What do you think? Is this $499 laptop a must-buy or a no way?

See at ASUS

Chromebooks

• The best Chromebooks
• Should you buy a Chromebook?
• Google Play is coming to Chromebooks
• Acer Chromebook 14 review
• Join our Chromebook forums

OnePlus 3T + Nougat video review!

I have a confession to make: I’ve had the OnePlus 3T for the past month or so, since its launch in late November. But for most of that time I haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to it — instead my time has been dominated by Nougat phones like the Pixel and Mate 9. The 3T arrived running Marshmallow which just felt old and a sludgy after using the new version.

No more! Within hours of its end-of-year deadline, OnePlus delivered Android 7.0 (and OxygenOS 4.0) for both the 3T and its predecessor, the OnePlus 3T. It’s a huge upgrade that makes the new device feel like legit Pixel competitor in all but a couple of areas. Check out our video review to find out more!

Check out our video review below, and be sure to hit up our OnePlus 3T Nougat write-up for more on the new Huawei flagship.

More from Android Central

• OnePlus 3T Nougat editorial
• OnePlus 3T review
• Android Central on YouTube

The new 360fly camera is a little ball of 4K fun

The new 360fly camera shoots 360-degree video in 4K that’s VR-ready and easy to share.

360-degree videos are really cool, and so is watching them in VR. The new 360fly camera does both and makes it easy to import and share them everywhere. And it looks pretty neat, too.

What is this peculiar little sphere? 🤔 Why, it’s the @360fly camera! 📷 This little guy looks tiny, but BOY is it powerful: you get seamless 360 video, you can use it with your #smartwatch, and it’s even #virtualreality ready! #CES2017 #360Fly

A photo posted by Android Central (@androidcentral) on Jan 5, 2017 at 11:17am PST

Taking 360 videos doesn’t have to be hard, even when you’re shooting them in 4K. The way it used to be done involved multiple cameras at multiple angles all feeding into expensive software on a really high-end computer plus a lot of editing time. With the new 360fly, now all you do is set it in place, start recording and use your phone or computer to look at and share the finished video — which is preassembled with all the metadata needed to watch through a VR headset.

We really like the way 360fly is going about it here. We’ve seen 360 4K cameras from other companies, but the small size of the 360fly and fun shape — it’s a magic golf ball with one eye — draw us to it. We felt the same way with the Samsung Gear 360. A camera that takes spherical video should look like a sphere, right?

The easier a thing is to use, the more you’ll be using it.

A camera built for the consumer also needs to be easy to use. Complicated extra features are always cool and welcomed by many, but you need to be able to set it in place, hit a button and then walk away while it does its thing. The 360fly nails it, and we spent enough time using the previous model to know that making 360 video easy means you’ll use it more.

While we’re not sure what Samsung’s plans are for a Gear 360 update yet, but for now, the 360fly takes the cake. It’s easy to use, can fit almost anywhere and shoots VR ready video in 4K without any file editing.

See at Amazon

The Gap’s AR app makes your Tango phone a personal fashion coach

The Gap’s augmented reality experience on the ASUS ZenFone 3 shows that AR doesn’t always mean sci-fi.

When we think about augmented reality, we tend to get off the rails and picture something like holograms and Death Star missile turrets. But the truth is that AR has some really practical uses, too. This short clip of an app from the Gap on the ASUS ZenFone 3 shows that AR has very practical real-world applications.

Super cool augmented reality demo from @gap, @asus, and @google. Uses an app from Gap and AR via Tango.

A video posted by Android Central (@androidcentral) on Jan 4, 2017 at 12:07pm PST

Using Google’s Tango technology built into the ZenFone 3, the Gap has built an app that can measure your body and display clothing on a 3D mannequin so you can tell how it will look while you’re wearing it. There are no dinosaurs or laser beams or Alien vs. Predator (or Pokémon, for that matter) battles of any kind. Just a copy of your body type wearing the clothes you’re thinking about buying.

Need more like this? Check out our CES 2017 portal!

Xiaomi’s modular Mi TV 4 is exactly the kind of innovation we need in the U.S.

It’s just too bad this amazing television is limited to China.

It’s funny how life works. Last week, I rushed out in a hurry to purchase a new television in time for our friends to come over and watch the ball drop on New Year’s Eve.

The backlight to our Samsung TV had burned out, but it took swapping the various logic boards and tweaking of wires before we realized what was happening. And now, I’m writing about Xiaomi’s modular television, the Mi TV 4. Not only is it equipped with its own AI-based suggestion engine and Dolby Atom surround sound, but you can choose to swap out the base or the screen depending on the situation.

What’s more, Xiaomi says that about 80 percent of the Mi TV 4 is actual screen, while the other 20 percent is components. That’s the way it is with traditional flat screen TVs, for the most part, but the way that its insides are laid out and integrated into the chassis doesn’t make it an easy fix for novices.

The Mi TV 4 is also an impressive 4.9mm thin. It looks like it’s supposed to stand up on a TV stand, however, rather than be mounted to the wall for the sheer fact that all of its components live on the bottom. But we won’t know anytime soon because the Mi TV 4 is only slated for release in China.

TVs and other gadgets aren’t a new product category for Xiaomi. The company has invested in 77 different incubating companies in an effort to establish itself as more than just another Chinese smartphone brand.

Huawei joins the list of Daydream-ready manufacturers with the Mate 9 Pro

Huawei is keeping their promises, and adding even more!

Shortly after Google announced Daydream View and the Google Pixel that powers it, several manufacturers announced support for Daydream would be on the way eventually. Among those early to announce, Huawei made it clear Daydream would be a big part of their future plans.

Today the company is making good on that promise by announcing Daydream support for the Mate 9 Pro and Porsche DesignMate 9 will be available very soon! Unfortunately, that leaves out the regular 5.9-inch Mate 9, which, ironically, was announced to be coming to the U.S. this week.

Huawei Mate 9 specs

Huawei joins a short list of powerful phones all now able to take you into higher quality VR with the help of a Daydream View headset and Daydream controller. It was Google’s hope that manufacturers would quickly move to support Daydream in order to create an ecosystem that closely mirrored their efforts with Cardboard VR. If Google can offer a single VR platform that works with many different Android phones, instead of just one manufacturer with a locked down ecosystem, Daydream has the potential to be the most significant VR platform available in a very short time.

We’ll have more details for Daydream on the Mate 9 Pro and Porsche Design Mate 9 soon!

Huawei Mate 9

• Huawei P9 review
• Huawei P9 specs
• Porsche Design Mate 9 unboxing
• All Huawei Mate 9 news
• Join the discussion in the forums