Asus ZenFone 5Z doesn't support ARCore (Google Play Services for AR); ROG Phone 3 to get it soon, confirms support

Google’s ARCore debuted in 2017 as a successor to the company’s Project Tango. Poised to take on ARKit from Apple, Google’s ARCore aimed to bring Augmented Reality to millions of people who already had Android devices.

This Android-based AR platform has since rolled out to countless Android devices through Google Play Services for AR. However, it is not always clear which devices support this feature.

See, ARCore does not require specialized hardware like the one we saw with the Project Tango devices. Instead, it uses the sensors already available in many modern smartphones to work well. But then again, not always.

It is now coming to light that the Asus ZenFone 5Z, despite being a current smartphone with most sensors, it still does not support ARCore. This was made clear by a moderator on Asus’ ZenTalk forum in response to a user query.

After checking with the relevant team, ZS620KL does not support Arcore. As our mod had mentioned before, there is lots of functions not only requiring specs in our product but also requiring the certification/collaboration/compatibility with other platform. Sorry for any inconvenience it may caused.
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As expected, this is not sitting well with users of the device who rightfully point out that most other devices released in 2018 and 2019, even mid-rangers, all support Google’s ARCore. This means that these supported device are able to take advantage of features like AR Navigation in Google Maps and more.

It’s shame that every 2018-2019 mid-range smartphones have AR core support but the Asus Zenfone 5z which is a 2018 flagship doesn’t have AR core support. Now without ARcore support we cannot get AR navigation in Google maps, 3D animated AR model in Google search and playground support in Google camera (ported) I don’t know why Asus isn’t responding regarding this!?

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At the time of writing, it is unclear which specific certification/collaboration/compatibility cited by the moderators is holding back this device from getting proper support for ARCore.

In the same breath, users of the Asus ROG Phone 3 have something to get excited over, seeing as Asus has confirmed that their devices could soon get support for ARCore.

Also in response to a user query, a ZenTalk moderator confirms that:

This function has been planned, after the subsequent opening will be announced again – thank you.

Please note that the above test has been directly translated from Chinese. In the response, the moderator does not offer any timelines of when exactly this feature will be rolled out.

NOTE: We have these and many more Asus stories in our dedicated Asus section.

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