It seems that Lenovo was quick to join the Tango bus from Google with the Phab 2 Pro, which was unveiled at Tech World 2016. Unlike any other phone, the PHAB2 Pro, powered by Tango technology – a set of sensors and software from Google that senses and maps its surroundings – makes a host of cutting-edge smartphone augmented reality (AR) experiences possible. For example, using AR apps, students can place true-to-scale virtual dinosaurs in their classrooms and enhance their learning through AR data overlays that appear while they walk around the creatures. AR gaming experiences let you play virtual dominos on your kitchen table, raise a digital pet in your bedroom and fight back swarms of aliens invading your house. With Tango technology the PHAB2 Pro can even begin to change the way people think about mapping indoor spaces to create new experiences like future augmented reality museum tours via the GuidiGO app. With Tango, the PHAB2 Pro offers unprecedented experiences on a smartphone that will continually learn and improve.
“Put simply, we wanted to take what was an amazing concept and transform it into a commercially viable mobile device. From the moment we saw Tango, we knew it could become pervasive, just like GPS. However, to truly make the PHAB2 Pro a game-changer, we developed it at an affordable price for mainstream consumers, delivering not just a bleeding-edge phone, but an all-around fantastic phone that’s first to market.” Jeff Meredith, vice president and general manager of Android and Chrome Computing, Lenovo.
“Tango enables our devices to sense physical motion and space and, as a result, has the power to change how we interact with our surroundings. We believe that devices with positional tracking functionality will be pervasive and are happy that the PHAB2 Pro will introduce these new capabilities, making your phone even more useful,” said Johnny Lee, Engineering Director at Google.
“Lenovo needed a highly robust and dependable platform for Tango and we are extremely pleased they chose the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor for its advanced technology and comprehensive design,” said Alex Katouzian, senior vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “The close collaboration between Lenovo, Google and Qualcomm Technologies allowed this new and innovative user experience to be implemented completely in software on the Snapdragon 652, allowing us to meet Lenovo’s aggressive deployment schedule without needing a separate co-processor or requiring hardware re-certification.”
The Technology Behind Tango
Three core technologies bring Tango experiences to life: motion tracking, depth perception and area learning. Through motion tracking, the PHAB2 Pro’s “eye” sees its own location in 3D. Area learning tells the smartphone its location. Depth perception lets the device analyze the shape of the world around it by detecting surfaces and obstacles. And now for the first time ever, your smartphone can visualize and understand its surrounding objects and environment via sensors that capture more than 250,000 measurements a second.
It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 processor, which brings efficient hardware integration and processing, leading 4G LTE connectivity, and cutting-edge time stamping and camera and sensor processing capabilities. Demanding computer vision processing is performed by a single, integrated and highly efficient Snapdragon processor with a tightly integrated suite of key modules including a DSP, ISP and integrated sensor hub. The Snapdragon heterogeneous computing platform is optimally balanced for a Tango workload and is designed for all-day use. The Snapdragon 652 processor also quickly processes and time stamps all the rich sensor data simultaneously received from multiple camera sensors, gyro and accelerometer, resulting in a fast, smooth augmented reality experience, where 3D AR graphic overlays track more naturally to the physical surroundings.
The PHAB2 Pro features Dolby AudioTM Capture 5.1 with Dolby Atmos playback capabilities. Making this possible are three microphones, spatial capture with noise reduction, along with an onboard 16mp camera that supports crisp video recording. The 6.4-inch PHAB2 Pro boasts an intelligent Assertive Display with a pin-sharp QHD (2,560 x 1,440) resolution, capable of optimizing image quality based on ambient lighting and content.
