9 Smartphones You Should Buy for Best AR Experience
The market is flooded with wearable AR devices but why go after them if you can get the best of AR on your smartphone?
AR or Augmented Reality is the projection of information on a screen. The screen can be a dedicated wearable device or even a smartphone. The market is flooded with wearable AR devices but why go after them if you can get the best of AR on your smartphone?
Almost every smartphone has some AR abilities. Remember Pokemon Go? Most of the smartphones supported it and rendered animations quite well. The tech companies, however, are not satisfied and they are upgrading hardware and software support to enrich your AR experience.
We decided to find out who is leading the change and here are 9 smartphones with best in class AR support.
1. Asus Zenfone AR
Recently Asus launched its new edition of their flagship smartphone. The Asus Zenfone AR which is google Tango-ready device. Google Tango is the toolkit for developers to design AR ready smartphone by google.
The Zenfone AR was one of the first devices on the market to be released with good specs and Tango support. Although Google shut down its Tango platform, the phone supports the new ARCore platform.
The device has Snapdragon 821 on-board which comes in three variants of storage and RAM ranging from 6GB of RAM and 64GB storage to 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage. The Zenfone AR packs a punch. It is a decent smartphone one can buy.
Price: Starts from $599
2. iPhone X
With every product Apple launches, it always manages to bring new technologies to consumers’ hand. The iPhone X is no exception.
It was launched with ARKit, Apple’s answer to Google Tango. The ARKit took years of research and was deployed to millions of iPhones at once, so it has the incentives for developers to build apps.
iPhone also has a collection of AR apps available in the App Store. Apple has successfully demonstrated state-of-art graphics augmentation with virtual SpaceX rocket landings in the backyard. The thousand dollar iPhone X is recommended for all the Apple fans.
Price: Approx $999
3. Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+
Samsung is always busy developing new and great features for their smartphones and the flagship Galaxy lineup this year has the addition of Galaxy S9 and S9+ with emphasis on AR.
The smartphone comes with a Snapdragon processor or an Exynos CPU (depending on the country). Samsung extended its AR capabilities with Google ARCore which enabled it to support high-end AR apps like IKEA’s ‘place your furniture’ application.
You can turn your selfies into an emoji or animated figure with S9s. The Galaxy SO has an AR virtual assistant combined with Samsung’s own AI assistant Bixby. There S9 and S9+ packs in 4/6 GB of ram and 64/128 GB respectively with a really good camera.
Price: Approx $719 (S9) and $839 (S9+)
4. Nokia 8
Nokia 8 (2018) or Nokia 8 Sirocco was just announced at MWC 2018. The Snapdragon 835 powered device comes with 6GB of RAM. The phone has a great camera which can be fully utilized with the processing power onboard to create a seamless AR experience in it’s 5.5’’ QHD Display.
Nokia 8 has a great support for real-time translations. The phone runs on Android OS with a stock Android experience. Nokia 8 reportedly support Google’s ARCore. It is being commended as a worthy contender to Galaxy S9+.
For the 2018 model of Nokia 8, the price has not yet been announced.
5. OnePlus 5T
The smartphone on everybody’s wishlist nowadays, OnePlus 5T is powerful enough to handle super demanding tasks while running a ton of other background apps. The OnePlus 5T is sub $500 flagship phone, powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor.
The OnePlus 5T has two variants in terms RAM and storage option – 6/8GB RAM and up to 128GB storage. It is your ticket to immersive AR experience at an affordable cost.
The best phone in its category, OnePlus 5T supports most of the AR apps available in the Google PlayStore.
6. Google Pixel 2 XL
The flagship to boast the best of Android. Google Pixel is a smartphone lineup by the developer of Android, Google. As a device lineup from Google, the Pixel has many advantages when it comes to new updates and new software.
This may be the first phone to roll out with ARCore, Google’s update for tango. The Google Pixel 2 XL is 6-inch smartphone powered by a Snapdragon 835 CPU with 4GB of RAM.
The device has a 16MP rear camera which is good for detailed AR activities like real-time translations of signs and voice etc. The Google pixel 2 XL has some cool AR games dedicated to the hardware it has.
You can rely on it for keeping you at the front of AR revolution.
Price:$849
7. OnePlus 6
The successor of already successful smartphone OnePlus 5T is confirmed to have 256GB of internal storage now. The OnePlus 6 smartphone is supposed to be powered by a next-generation Snapdragon 845 processor which is way more powerful and efficient than any existing processor.
Other details include a QHD display and 20/16 MP combo of the rear camera to capture depth in an image. The depth capture can also be exploited by the AR apps to make AR more interactive and realistic.
The price is still unknown but is expected around ~$650.
8. Samsung Galaxy Note 8
The biggest, the brightest smartphone on the market, the note series was the kickstarter of 5+ inch devices. It continues its legacy with Note 8 this year.
Even with a 6.3 inch ‘infinity display’, the device doesn’t feel so big. Powered by an Exynos Processor and 6GB of RAM, it is a performance beast.
Note 8 was not released with ARCore support but Google has recently added the Note to its AR universe. Many AR apps in the PlayStore have modified their apps so that they can use more screens to create a more immersive AR experience with Note 8.
Price:$950
9. Huawei P20 and P20 Pro
Huawei is a Chinese mobile manufacturer known for great designs and sturdy build quality. The flagship range of Huawei is P series and this year’s edition of the series, the P20 and P20 Pro are great smartphones with bezel-less displays and great hardware.
The phone is able to handle whatever you throw at it. Huawei has not introduced any new advancement in AR with P20, but its AR support is at par with segment leaders.
The device ships with 128GB of memory and 4GB & 6GB RAM variants. The phone is expected to be priced around $800.
