Surprise! Amazon is selling an unlocked variant of the ZenFone AR in the U.S.

ASUS’ ZenFone AR is already creating quite a buzz. We recently reported that the phone was now available for purchase through Verizon, and it looked like Big Red may have had exclusive rights to sell the phone in the United States. However, an unlocked variant of the ZenFone AR was posted on Amazon earlier today. Better yet, you can snag the Project Tango phone for US$50 less than Verizon offers it.

As a quick reminder, the ZenFone AR boasts some pretty impressive specs:

• 5.7-inch 2560x1440 AMOLED display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
• 6 GB RAM
• 64 GB storage
• 3300 mAh battery w/ Quick Charge 3.0
• Support for microSD cards up to 2 TB
• 23 MP “Tricam” camera system with AR capability

Amazon is currently selling the unlocked version of the ZenFone AR for US$599. For $100 more, users can bump the RAM to 8 GB and the storage to 128 GB. That’s not a bad phone for the price, and the inclusion of support for both Google Daydream-compatible VR headsets and Google Tango augmented reality, this could be quite an interesting phone.

Keep in mind that the unlocked ZenFone AR is compatible with GSM networks only (which means T-Mobile, AT&T, and related MVNOs here in the States). CDMA users will have to look at the Verizon model, which may not be compatible with Sprint’s network. The model sold at Verizon splits the difference between the two versions mentioned here, offering 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage for US$648.

If you’re looking for a GSM-compatible ZenFone AR, then head over to Amazon to check it out. Other online retailers may also begin to sell the device, but we couldn’t find it anywhere else at the time of this writing.

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