What is so special about Lenovo Phab2 Pro, world's first Google Tango-enabled AR phone?

Lenovo announced three devices -- the Phab2, Phab2 Plus, Phab2 Pro -- at the Lenovo Tech World 2016 in San Francisco on Thursday, but it is the Phab2 Pro that has caught the attention of gadget lovers. It is the world's first handset with Google's Tango augmented reality (AR) technology.

Tango technology is a set of sensors and software from Google that senses and maps its surroundings, making smartphone AR experiences possible. It has the potential to change the way people think about mapping indoor spaces to create new experiences.

"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, in a statement.

"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," said Jeff Meredith, vice president and general manager of Android and Chrome Computing, Lenovo.

The Lenovo Phab 2 Pro has a metal body and a fingerprint sensor. It sports a 6.4-inch Quad-HD IPS display with 2,560x1,440 resolution, powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 SoC processor, and comes packed with a 64GB internal memory (with microSD card slot) and a 4GB RAM. The device also mounts a 16MP camera and houses a Dolby AudioTM Capture 5.1 with Dolby Atmos playback capabilities.

The price of the device starts at $499 (varies from country to country) and the Phab 2 Pro will be globally available starting September. It will be sold in the U.S. at select Lowe's stores (both online and offline) by the end of the year.