MWC 2018
The world's largest annual mobile event - Mobile World Congress - takes place on the last days of February. We're on the ground in Barcelona to bring you all of the week's news. Tune in here for our full coverage, including hands-on with new phones from Samsung, ZTE, Nokia, Sony, Alcatel, Huawei, and more.
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Hands On with the Asus Zenfone 5Q
Asus has a "lite" version of its flagship prepped for a March release. It will be called the Zenfone 5Q in the US. This phone isn't quite like the more high-end Zenfone 5. Instead, the Zenfone 5 Lite offers middling specs in a middling piece of hardware. It is unique in that it has four cameras, so that's something. Here are our first impressions.
Hands On with the Asus Zenfone 5 / 5z
Asus today announced the Zenfone 5, its flagship handset for the year. The Zenfone 5 takes a lot of cues from some well-known competing devices complete with a notch in the display. The 5z is a version in the same exact body with upgraded internal specs. It's a premium device thanks to glass surfaces, metal frame, and high-quality cameras. Here are our first impressions.
Asus Shows Off the Zenfone 5 Series
Asus today revealed its new flagship series handsets, the Zenfone 5, Zenfone 5 Lite, and Zenfone 5z. All three phone run Android 8 Oreo with the new ZenUI 5.0
- Zenfone 5 Lite / 5Q:Called the Zenfone 5Q in the US, this low end of the series has 2.5D curved class on the front and rear with a plastic frame in between. It boasts a 6-inch full HD+ 18:9 display. The Zenfone 5Q has four cameras, with an ultra-wide, 120-degree lens on each side. The main sensor on the rear captures 16-megapixel images, while the selfie camera has a Sony 20-megapixel sensor. It features a number of shooting modes, including portrait/bokeh. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 630 processor and will come with in 3 GB / 32 GB and 4 GB / 64 GB configurations. The phone ships with a 3,300mAh battery. Other features include NFC, dual SIM, face unlock, speaker, and microUSB.
- Zenfone 5: The middle of the pack is powered by a Snapdragon 636 processor with 6 GB of RAM. It features a massive 6.2-inch display with a 19:9 aspect ratio with full HD+ resolution. It can automatically adjust the color temperature to suit its surroundings. The display features a notch, similar to the iPhone X, where it holds an array of sensors and more. Asus shrunk the size of the status bar icons to ensure they fit. Tapping them will drop the notifications down so they are all visible. The camera includes OIS and an aperture of f/1.8 for the 12-megapixel main camera, which has a Sony IMX363 sensor. The front camera has an 8-megapixel sensor with an aperture of f/2.0. The camera relies on AI-assisted scene detection to adjust for the subject. The company uses AI to improve the efficiency of the 3,300mAh battery, particularly when it is not being used. The phone includes stereo speakers and noise-cancelling microphones, DTS, and aptX. It will come with either 4 or 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage. It supports dual SIMs and expandable memory cards.
- Zenfone 5z: The star of the series is the Zenfone 5z. It shares nearly all features with the Zenfone 5 — including an identical body externally — but it upgrades to the Snapdragon 845 processor from Qualcomm. Options will include 4, 6, or 8 GB of RAM and 64, 128, or 256 GB of storage.
Google's ARCore 1.0 Released to Public, Google Lens Hits More Handsets
Google today made ARCore 1.0 available to developers and the public, bringing augmented reality to some 100 million smartphones around the world. Handsets compatible with ARCore include Google’s Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2, and Pixel 2 XL; Samsung’s Galaxy S8, S8+, Note8, S7, and S7 edge; LGE’s V30 and V30+; Asus’s Zenfone AR; and OnePlus’s OnePlus 5. More devices from Samsung, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Asus, Xiaomi, HMD/Nokia, ZTE, Sony Mobile, and Vivo will be compatible with ARCore later this year. The 1.0 release gives developers an updated set of tools to create virtual content. For example, it features improved environmental understanding that lets people put virtual objects on surfaces like posters, furniture, toy boxes, books, cans, and more. The refreshed Android Studio Beta supports ARCore in the Emulator, so developers can get to work right away. Some of the first brands to offer ARCore content include Porsche, FC Barcelona, and Sotheby's. Google says it is expanding the availability of the Google Lens Preview, which lets you take a picture and gather information about what's in the image. Google says Lens will hit all Google Photos English-language users over the coming weeks. Further, Google is going to add Google Lens to its Google Assistant on select Android flagship devices. Lens lets people create contacts from business cards, recognize plants and animals, and add events to their calendar by taking photos.
