Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, aka the first Google Tango phone, to arrive in November

Google is busy gearing up to ship out its new Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones to store shelves over the next month, but the company will also have another important handset hitting the market at roughly the same time. According to Google’s Clay Bavor, the company’s first Tango phone, the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, will finally go on sale in November.

The Phab 2 Pro was unveiled back in June and was originally stated to go on sale in the summer. This release date was then pushed back to September and then “fall”, but now the head of VR at Google, Clay Bavor, has confirmed to CNET that the phone will finally be making its appearance this November. Although the reason for this long delay has not been given.

If you missed the unveiling, the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro is the first smartphone to feature Google’s Tango 3D depth-sensing camera technology. This hardware can scan the surrounding world, creating detailed 3D maps and allowing for augmented reality experiences, including navigation, gaming, or even testing out how a new lick of paint or piece of furniture will affect the look of your living room.

Along with cutting edge 3D vision technology, the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro boasts some decent processing and display specifications too. The phone features a high performance octa-core Snapdragon 652 processor, 4GB RAM, and 64GB internal memory with microSD card slot, tucked behind a huge 6.4-inch QHD (2560×1400) display. The Phab 2 also comes with a 4,050mAh battery, Quick Charge technology, and a fingerprint scanner on the back.

Importantly, the Phab 2 Pro is focused on augmented rather than virtual reality experiences and isn’t compatible with Daydream VR, on account of its LCD rather than AMOLED display. For now, customers will have to choose between platforms, but this may not always be the case. Bavor suggests that the company may release a phone that supports both Tango and Daydream when he said “You can imagine in the future you won’t have to make a choice, but that’s a bit further out.”

The first Google Tango handset will be a fair bit cheaper than the new Pixel phones, even with all of this cutting edge technology packed in. The phone is expected to retail for a quite reasonable $499 (£345 / AU$672) when it launches in the US this November.