Smartwatches are relying on fashion brands to survive

The 2017 lineup of Android Wear watches is a techy fashionista’s dream come true. With options from Louis Vuitton, Movado, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Emporio Armani, Tommy Hilfiger and an ever-growing list of designers, Google’s smartwatch platform is impressively diverse. Fossil Group even announced it would offer 300 new smartwatch designs by year’s end, with many of those models running Android Wear. Meanwhile, big tech brands like Motorola and Microsoft have stopped making wearables altogether. The fashion industry’s enthusiasm is a lifeline for smartwatches, as tech companies start deserting them.

There are still a few consumer electronics brands hanging around, like Huawei and LG. But they’re outnumbered by fashion designers offering Android Wear devices in a wide range of styles and prices. That variety is by design. David Singleton, head of Android Wear, told Engadget that his team “set out to create a diverse set of devices.” He believes that watches are too personal for companies to adopt a one-size-fits-all approach.

Instead, Google partnered with numerous brands from both tech and fashion to produce dozens of options for consumers. In the three years since its birth, the platform has not only acquired an impressive stable of stylish new looks and useful skills, but it has also found an identity. According to Singleton, Android Wear now revolves around the “three pillars of what smartwatches are for today — staying healthy, staying connected and expressing your style.”

That last “pillar” is particularly important, and might explain why tech companies have had trouble gaining traction. “If you think about a watch — you do purchase these products as much for what they say about you and convey about yourself as well as for what they do,” Singleton said. “You choose something you like the look and feel of more than anything else,” he added. Early attempts from the likes of Huawei, LG and Moto were ultimately basic, cookie-cutter designs that failed to inspire longing the way a gorgeous timepiece can.

The fashion industry is a more natural fit, with its vastly superior knowledge of premium aesthetics and style. Thanks largely to partnerships with Google, brands with sartorial knowhow launched smartwatch after smartwatch after smartwatch. For the most part, these companies simply take existing designs and swap out the face for a case that runs Android Wear. It’s not the most creative formula, but it has its appeal. Designers like Movado, Mont Blanc and LV bring with them ardent brand loyalists, who are willing to drop thousands of dollars on luxury timepieces. Having a connected option is a bonus these customers might consider. Movado’s director of public relations Heather Cohen Sugarman said, “If they’re going online and looking for a watch anyway and there you have a beautiful watch and being able to be connected, it’s only a positive thing.”

For these companies, selling smartwatches has an added benefit. “It’s allowed us to tap into a younger consumer — more of a millennial-based consumer (by) attracting them to the whole techy side of things and bringing in some cool modern designs,” said Sugarman.

But that’s not to say tech companies aren’t contributing to the development of smartwatches at all. Singleton was quick to add that Google’s consumer electronics partners “are still very important,” and that some of them “push the envelope about what you can do.” Fashion and tech brands target different segments of the market, he said, and “it’s interesting to see the worlds come together.”

Despite the combined efforts of all these big companies, wearable sales continue to slow. Apple still reigns, with the Watch Series 2 being the best-selling wearable last quarter. But Singleton isn’t discouraged. “In our numbers and in our usage, what we’re seeing is that everything is growing,” he said, pointing to holiday seasons as periods of “exponential” growth. “Even throughout the year, we see continuous growth and we see that consumers are engaging with the product more and more over time. Every single sign is positive.”

That may be the case for Google, but over at Fitbit, most signs are negative. The company just reported declines in sales and revenue for the second quarter of 2017, compared to the same period last year. Fitbit is preparing to launch its first smartwatch, and is banking on that device to boost its overall performance by the end of the year. Even then, it’s projecting a loss for 2017.

There may be some hope yet for wearables. According to the latest available IDC data, the worldwide wearables market grew 16.9 percent in the last quarter of 2016 over the year before. The research company expects wearables to continue doing well, thanks to the boost from fashion brands. Jitesh Ubrani, IDC’s senior research analyst wrote in a report that “much of this growth is coming from vendor push rather than consumer demand,” and that “hybrid watches and other fashion accessories with fitness tracking are starting to gain traction, (presenting) an opportunity to sell multiple wearables to a single consumer under the guise of ‘fashion.’ “

In such uncertain times, Android Wear needs all the help it can get, and the fashion community could prove to be a crucial ally.

Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium will play Netflix in HDR

In May, Netflix began opening up its HDR streaming feature to smartphones with HDR-capable screens. At the time, only LG G6 users could make use of it, but now those with a Sony Xperia XZ Premium can too. Netflix supports two different standards of HDR for each of the phones — Dolby Vision for the G6 and UltraHD Premium for the Xperia XZ Premium — but, regardless, it means both have access to vivid, high-resolution viewing. For those wondering why the feature hasn’t rolled out to the popular Samsung Galaxy S8, which also has an HDR-capable screen, it could be that it supports a third HDR format — Mobile HDR Premium.

To start watching Netflix in HDR on your Xperia XZ Premium, you’ll need the latest HDR firmware and a premium subscription. You’ll also have to change your video quality streaming settings to “high” and have a connection speed faster than 25mbps.

Via: Android Police

Source: Netflix

Updated iPhone SE Rumored for Early 2018 Launch

Apple supplier Wistron is preparing to expand its India-based iPhone manufacturing, with production geared towards the next-generation iPhone SE, according to local sources (via Focus Taiwan). Apple is hoping to build its share of the Indian smartphone market by giving Wistron the majority of the orders for the new iPhone SE, which is said to ship in the first quarter of 2018.

Wistron was targeted as a supplier for the new iPhone SE due to its existing status as a manufacturer for the current iPhone SE, which it officially began assembling in India in May at a plant in Bangalore. That same plant will be the location of assembly for the new iPhone SE as well, and the sources made an unlikely claim that Wistron will target India first when it begins shipping the device to market, and then expand the launch worldwide. Within India, the device will be aimed at customers looking for a cheaper and smaller device.

The supplier is even looking into expanding its production through talks with the local government.

Taiwan-based contract electronics maker Wistron Corp. is preparing for expansion of its production base in India to produce the next-generation smaller iPhone — the iPhone SE — according to sources in the South Asian country. According to the sources, Wistron is expected to start to ship the new iPhone SE — which is expected to be more affordable than larger iPhones for many Indian consumers — in the first quarter of next year.

They said that Wistron is in talks with the Karnataka government for an extra piece of land for its production expansion, hoping it will double or even triple its production capacity over the next five years.

Recently, a questionable rumor pointed towards a potential late-August introduction of the new iPhone SE. A debut early next year is more likely since we’ve already entered August and have yet to hear any other rumors corroborating such an event so close to the expected “iPhone 8” keynote in September. Otherwise, there’s been exactly one other rumor this year regarding a next-generation iPhone SE, related to the smartphone’s potential inclusion of a strengthened Ion-X glass display.

However, even that rumor was never clear in regards to the device in the image of the leak, which could also have been the upcoming “iPhone 7s.” If it was a new model of the iPhone SE, users can expect the small-screen iPhone to move away from the design of the iPhone 5s and instead include a form factor that matches it with the iPhone 7 family, alongside the usual internal upgrades.

Indian tech site Tekz24 recently reported that internals similar to the iPhone 7 are expected for the next-generation iPhone SE, although the details should be taken with the usual grain of salt due to the sketchy source. The report said the new iPhone SE will have an A10 chip, 2GB RAM, storage capacities in 32GB and 128GB (similar to current iPhone SE models), a 12MP rear camera and 5MP front camera, and a 1700 mAh battery (slightly above current models’ ~1640 mAh). The device is also said to include “slightly thinner side bezels,” mirroring the lessened bezels on the iPhone 7.

Related Roundup: iPhone SE
Buyer’s Guide: iPhone SE (Caution)
Discuss this article in our forums

Samsung Begins Running OLED Production Lines for iPhone 8 at Full Capacity

As we enter the season of iPhone production ramp-up stories, news out of Apple’s supply chain today reports that Samsung Display is gearing up to operate seven of its next-generation OLED lines at full capacity in August, all of which are dedicated to Apple and the iPhone 8.

According to ETNews, the OLED ramp-up follows a series of inspections that Samsung made on each of the seven lines over the past few weeks in preparation for Apple’s much-anticipated OLED-only iPhone 8. Samsung Display is the only supplier of OLED screens for the 2017 iPhone, and the manufacturer is said to see an increase from 15,000 panels per month to 105,000 panels per month following the full scale production increase.

A recent concept of the OLED iPhone 8 by Max Rudberg
Samsung Display crafts multiple iPhone screens out of a single of its OLED panels, so if it keeps its production lines at maximum capacity with 100 percent yield, the supplier can produce 130 million 5.8-inch OLED iPhone screens in one year. Of course, the reality is that OLED is difficult to manufacture, and industry watchers believe that the yield rate for the Samsung Display OLED iPhone 8 line will be “at least” 60 percent. Multiple reports this year have pointed towards production delays in the supply chain, potentially leading to a limited capacity iPhone 8 launch.

While Samsung Display will be the sole OLED supplier for the 2017 iPhone, numerous sources have said that a new supplier — LG Display — will enter Apple’s OLED supply chain in 2018. Apple is said to have invested $2.6 billion into LG Display to help the supplier get set up as a major OLED manufacturer for future iPhones, with Apple pressing LG to be ready as soon as next year. LG Display is also planning to invest $13 billion in OLED production over the next three years, continuing its dominance in the OLED TV screen market and specifically hoping to “make inroads against rival Samsung in smartphone displays.”

Related Roundup: iPhone 8
Tags: Samsung, etnews.com
Discuss this article in our forums

Huawei Boosts Goal of Outselling iPhone as AT&T Agrees to Carry Its Upcoming Flagship

AT&T has tentatively agreed to sell a flagship smartphone made by Chinese company Huawei, according to The Information.

The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said the device AT&T carries may resemble Huawei’s upcoming Mate 10 smartphone, a new high-end model that the company is rumored to unveil in Europe this October. However, the smartphone could have a different name in the United States.

A deal isn’t finalized until the phone clears all the technical hurdles and the companies agree on the commercial terms of the release. Huawei’s engineers are working on hardware and software modifications that are necessary for meeting U.S. telecom standards and AT&T’s requirements, the people said.

The partnership would be a major win for Huawei, already the world’s third largest smartphone maker by market share.

Huawei is the most popular smartphone maker in China, and it has aggressively pushed into Canada and several European countries, but it has considerably less brand awareness in the United States, where it lacks agreements with the big four carriers Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, and until now, AT&T.

American customers have to resort to retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart, or Amazon to purchase a Huawei smartphone, reducing the brand’s visibility in a country where Apple and Samsung reign supreme.

Huawei’s reputation also suffered when it was banned from selling network equipment in the United States. In 2012, citing a risk to national security, a U.S. congressional report raised concerns that Huawei could build backdoors in their equipment to leak sensitive information from the U.S. to China.

Huawei has denied those claims, and the company has expressed hope that the ban will eventually be lifted. Of note, the ban doesn’t appear to affect Huawei’s ability to sell smartphones in the United States.

A deal with AT&T could help Huawei achieve its lofty goal of becoming the world’s largest smartphone maker by 2021, a feat that would require leapfrogging both Apple and Samsung in sales.

Huawei shipped an estimated 38.4 million smartphones in the June quarter, a 20 percent increase over a year ago, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. By comparison, Apple reported it sold 41 million iPhones in the same period, up nearly 2 percent from the year-ago quarter.

“Huawei is now closing in fast on Apple and Apple will be looking nervously over its shoulder in the next few quarters,” said Woody Oh, Director at Strategy Analytics. “Huawei is outperforming across Asia, Europe and Africa with popular Android models such as the P10 and Mate 9.”

Huawei held just 1 percent market share in the United States as of the first quarter, according to research firm IDC.

Tags: AT&T, theinformation.com, Huawei
Discuss this article in our forums

Learn how to get Developer options on Android

Perhaps you want to enable USB debugging, unlock your bootloader so you can root your Android phone, or just tweak your animations to give your phone a zippier feel. Whatever your reason for wanting to access the hidden options that reside in every Android device, you’ll first have to unlock them. Follow the simple guide below to learn how to get developer options on Android.

By default, the developer options in Android devices are hidden. This is because they’re really designed for developers who want to test them and make changes that may impact your phone’s performance. In other words, it’s not a good idea to go tinkering with the developer options, unless you have a specific purpose in mind.

If you want to get more from your Android phone or tablet, then you might also be interested in our roundup of the best Android Nougat tips and tricks.

How to enable Developer options in Android

You can unlock the Developer options on any Android smartphone or tablet by locating the Build number in your Settings menu and tapping it multiple times. However, the exact location of the aforementioned build number may differ depending on your phone’s manufacturer.

If using stock Android, go to Settings > About phone > Build number. On a Samsung Galaxy device, go to Settings > About device > Build number. On an HTC device, go to Settings > About > Software information > More > Build number. On an LG device, go to Settings > About phone > Software info > Build number.
Tap Build number seven times. After the first few taps, you should see the steps counting down until you unlock the developer options. Once activated, you will see a message that reads, “You are now a developer!”
Go back to Settings, where you’ll find a Developer options entry in the menu.

How to disable Developer options in Android

If you decide that you no longer want the Developer options to be accessible in your Settings menu, then it’s relatively easy to get rid of them.

• Go to Settings > Apps > Settings > Storage and tap Clear data. In earlier versions of Android, it will just be Settings > Apps > Settings and Clear data.

That’s it! The Developer options entry will be removed from your Settings menu, but you can always get it back by following the steps outlined above.

The developer options in Android allow you to carry out a host of actions, but they’re really designed for developers to debug their apps and tweak different system behaviors. Because of this, we advise against tweaking any settings without first understanding what they do. Check out the official Android Developer website for a full breakdown of the various options.

Corsair beefs up gaming desktops with stronger storage, GTX 1080 Ti graphics

Why it matters to you

PC gamers looking for a pre-configured desktop now have three additional choices from Corsair based on M.2 SSD storage, and GTX 1080 Ti graphics.

Corsair said on Thursday, August 3 that it outfitted its Corsair One-branded PC gaming desktops with GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics, and storage based on M.2 NVMe SSDs. These components are provided in three new configurations with a starting price of $2,300, and fall under the company’s “Corsair One Pro” umbrella. They join four other current “vanilla” and “pro” configurations with a starting price of $1,800.

Here are all seven available desktops:

CPU
GPU
Memory
(two slots)
Storage
Power Supply
$1,800
i7-7700
GTX 1070
16GB DDR4
@ 2,400MHz
240GB SSD
1TB HDD
400 watt
80 Plus Gold
$2,200
i7-7700K
GTX 1080
16GB DDR4
@ 2,400MHz
480GB SSD
2TB HDD
400 watt
80 Plus Gold
$2,300
i7-7700K
GTX 1080
16GB DDR4
@ 2,400MHz
960GB SSD
400 watt
80 Plus Gold
$2,600
i7-7700K
GTX 1080 Ti
16GB DDR4
@ 2,400MHz
960GB SSD
500 watt
80 Plus Gold
$2,300*
i7-7700K
GTX 1080
16GB DDR4
@ 2,400MHz
480GB M.2 SSD
2TB HDD
400 watt
80 Plus Gold
$2,700*
i7-7700K
GTX 1080 Ti
16GB DDR4
@ 2,400MHz
480GB M.2 SSD
2TB HDD
500 watt
80 Plus Gold
$2,900*
i7-7700K
GTX 1080 Ti
32GB DDR4
@ 2,400MHz
480GB M.2 SSD
2TB HDD
500 watt
80 Plus Gold

* New configurations

The memory used in Corsair’s PC gaming desktops is based on the company’s Vengeance LPX DDR4 sticks. Designed for overclocking, these memory modules include a heatspreader made from pure aluminum to keep those circuits running optimally, and a printed circuit board designed to properly manage the heat. On their own, Corsair’s 16GB kit running at 2,400MHz can cost $170 while the 32GB kit can cost $300.

Meanwhile, product images show that the Corsair One desktops rely on the company’s own SF400 and SF500 power supplies, which are underpowered based on Nvidia’s suggestions for its GTX 1080 and GTX 1080 Ti cards. For the GTX 1080 Ti graphics chip, Nvidia suggests the use of a 600-watt power supply given that the card consumes 250 watts on its own. For the vanilla GTX 1080 card, Nvidia suggests a 500-watt power supply (180-watt usage). That said, there doesn’t appear to be any way to choose a better power supply option for Corsair’s desktops.

“The sleek, aircraft-grade aluminum chassis is built with painstaking attention to detail, and extremely resistant to surface wear,” the company states. “Featuring a previously impossible small footprint, and subtle ambient lighting details, Corsair One is at home in any environment.”

As for the rest of the specifications, the desktops provide these features:

Ports (back):
1x PS/2 Port
2x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A
3x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A
1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C
1x Gigabit Ethernet
1x HDMI
2x DisplayPort
5x Audio jacks
2x Wi-Fi antenna jacks
1x S/PDIF audio
Ports (front):
1x HDMI 2.0
1x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A
Connectivity:
Wireless AC
Bluetooth 4.2
Form factor:
Mini-Tower
CPU cooling:
Liquid
GPU cooling:
Liquid
Dimensions:
7.87 x 6.92 x 14.96 inches
Weight:
16.31 pounds
Case materials:
Steel
Bead-blasted aluminum
Case color:
Black

As the base specifications show, Corsair’s desktop provides an HDMI port and a USB 3.1 Gen1 Type-A port on the front for easy virtual reality headset connectivity (although for the HTC Vive, you’re better off connecting the link box to the back). Both the processor and graphics card are liquid cooled, too, providing a highly quiet environment while the computer idles.

Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes Apple apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers put paid apps on sale for free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest iOS app deals available from the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

ReliCam

ReliCam promises to be the manual photo and video camera app made with photographers in mind. Take control of your iPhone’s camera and take the pictures you want the way you want.

Available on:

iOS

Happy Hypnosis

Lift your spirits with an encouraging and uplifting hypnotherapy session by Rachael Meddows Hypnosis. Don’t forget to snap out of it!

Available on:

iOS

Docky

Docky is a fun new way to update and customize your phone even further. This tool lets you choose from a wide variety of beautiful designs that personalize your device in a way no ordinary wallpaper can.

Available on:

iOS

Blockr

Ads are the most annoying things in our web browsing experience. They take up space, make web pages load slower, and cost us extra data. This app aims to change all this using Blockr.

Available on:

iOS

Formulas

This app features dozens of custom, multilayered photo effects, ranging from basic color and tonal to authentic vintage film emulations, textured finishes, and artistic styles.

Available on:

iOS

Electronics Calculators

Need some help in your physics class? This app can help you find the value of resistors, and includes an Ohm’s law calculator and a 555 timer that calculates output frequency.

Available on:

iOS

How will NASA photograph the eclipse? With jet planes, of course

Why it matters to you

The images could help researchers understand why the sun’s outer atmosphere is hotter than the lower layers, as well as potentially gaining a better understanding of what Mercury might be made of.

The first full solar eclipse to come to the U.S. in 100 years will only last in totality for about two minutes — unless of course you are a NASA scientist with a pair of jet planes. During the Aug. 21 eclipse, NASA is aiming to photograph the most detailed images of the sun yet by extending the total view time of the eclipse with a pair of telescopes mounted on two WB-57F jets. While photographers on the ground view the phenomenon with special glasses and filters, getting higher in the earth’s atmosphere will result in both clearer pictures and an extended viewing time for a NASA eclipse study.

By following the eclipse via jet, the team will extend their viewing time of the celestial phenomenon from less than two and a half minutes to over seven minutes. The scientists will shoot from twin telescopes, both located on the nose of the jets.

The team’s goal is to capture the details in the corona as the moon completely blocks the sun, leaving the outer atmosphere easily visible. The darkness created by the eclipse will also allow the researchers to study Mercury — the team plans to take the first thermal images of the planet during the eclipse from those same jets. Recording how fast the planet cools while the sun is covered could help scientists better understand Mercury’s make-up.

“These could well turn out to be the best ever observations of high frequency phenomena in the corona,” Dan Seaton, co-investigator of the project and researcher at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, said. “Extending the observing time and going to very high altitude might allow us to see a few events or track waves that would be essentially invisible in just two minutes of observations from the ground.”

NASA says the images could help researchers understand why the sun is so hot. While the temperatures in the corona reach the millions, lower layers such as the photosphere top out in the thousands. Gathering data from the corona during the eclipse could help the team better understand why the inner layers of the sun’s atmosphere are actually cooler than the outer layers. The images could help prove — or disprove — a theory that nano-flares, which scientists have not yet seen, accounts for the temperature differences.

The telescopic camera will be shooting high resolution images at 30 fps. By taking multiple images over time, scientists expect they could identify potential nanoflares by comparing the shots to look for motion. The images will be taken with the traditional visible light camera, while the images of Mercury will be shot in infrared to create a temperature map of the planet.

The project is just one of 11 different tasks NASA is leading during the eclipse.

Google’s Tango and Apple’s ARKit approach augmented reality from opposite sides

If you ask half the tech world right now, Apple is on the verge of inventing augmented reality.

While some degree of eye-rolling is appropriate, it is true that ARKit is going to accomplish something special by being available on such a large number of phones and tablets with nothing more than a software update. It’s the kind of thing that gets Android owners wondering why Google didn’t go this route, choosing instead to invest so heavily in what we now call Tango.

While checking out the ASUS ZenFone AR, the first Tango phone people will actually buy, I decided to ask around and see what the people working with this tech every day had to say.

A big part of understanding the functional difference between ARKit and Tango is actually trying the two approaches to AR out for yourself. Apple’s approach is simple, lightweight, and fun. ARKit lets you choose a point in front of the phone, and the augmented layer exists based on that point. You can walk around that point, and you can walk up to and away from that point, and the combination of motion sensors and accelerometers in the iPhone gives you a reasonably accurate translation in the real world. If you haven’t seen the demo videos, you should do that.

But if you’re going to call ARKit high-end augmented reality, it’s almost appropriate to call Tango something else. Tango can’t be released into the world with a software update, because it requires specialized hardware to be aware of the world around it. When you place a virtual object in front of you with Tango, the phone is able to detect far more than just that one point. The software is able to “see” the shapes around it. Tango phones can tell which wall you are facing in the room you are standing in, and can tell when you have left the room with the virtual object in it.

The things you can do with Tango open the doors to a universe of things ARKit simply isn’t capable of, and that’s not coming from me. After showing me how Wayfair plans to use Tango to let you place furniture in your home before you buy it, R&D lead Mike Fiesta explained why Tango is the platform he’s worked with the most.

I’ve been very impressed with Tango. It’s very stable and accurate. We started working with the dev kit two years ago, and it has come a long way since then. You can move things around in the room, leave and come back, and when you do everything stays in place. I’ve been really impressed with the scaling and tracking.

While Wayfair is often perceived as just a retail company, the tech side of this organization is actively pursuing all forms of VR and AR to better understand how people shop. Fiesta said Wayfair is eventually looking to use Tango for scanning furniture into AR as well, once the cameras are good enough to create the kind of millimeter accuracy needed for that kind of thing. He also pointed out the number one barrier for a lot of novice AR users right now, regardless of platform, is trying to pinch to zoom instead of just leaning in closer to the virtual object in order to see it larger.

ASUS firmly believes Tango will be where developers go in order to build AR apps with substance.

So are these functional differences going to be important to consumers? ASUS certainly seems to think so, after taking to several of the PR and product specialists who have been using this tech for the last couple of months. For ASUS, Tango is the thing you buy when you want to experience the best in AR.

What Apple is doing with ARKit is impressive to be sure, but there have been no demos so far of any substance. It’s cool to see a rocket land on a drone ship, but ASUS firmly believes Tango will be where developers go in order to build AR apps that matter. Rich, interactive experiences that last more than a few minutes are the kind of things Tango was built for, and Asus expects that difference to become clear quickly when these two platforms are compared this holiday season.

Of course, the kind of experiences being described here weren’t even on display at the event ASUS was holding to celebrate this very phone. Of the six AR demos on display, the longest experience I had was only a couple of minutes. It’s fun to walk around a BMW i3 once or twice, and who doesn’t want a photo standing next to a virtual Lion, but showing off the more complicated Tango experiences takes time ASUS wasn’t willing to spend in a demo floor. These apps already exist, and those who buy into the ZenFone AR pitch will love them, but it rings a little hollow to brag about being more capable than the unfinished and not-yet-publicly available ARKit only to then show things that even one of the “product specialists” at the ZenFone AR event admitted to being a little gimmicky.

It’ll be a little while before I’m ready to publish a full review of the ZenFone AR, and even longer until it’s time to compare the latest Tango apps to the best of ARKit, but it’s clear there’s some expectation a substantial quality difference between the two. While that should technically be the case, I’m eager to see if Apple users care.

Perhaps more important, will developers care about “better” if there are are potentially millions more eyeballs on another platform? I think we’re going to find out very quickly.

See ASUS ZenFone AR at Verizon