CHICAGO—The first Google Tango phone may have appeared under the Lenovo brand, but a Tango add-on module will likely come to the Moto Z phone, Motorola's CEO Aymar de Lencquesaing said at a press event today.
"The tablet folks [at Lenovo] did a phablet and worked with Google, the Tango team, to come out with a Tango phablet," he said. "Going forward, we'll have to address as a group how do we reconcile the products that are at the fringe? We're likely to to have a Tango module to basically enable the Z to have Tango functionality."
Google's Tango is a set of camera and software technologies which help map indoor areas for augmented reality. The first Tango-compatible phone, the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, recently went on sale in the US after being delayed from an initial summer launch.
The Moto Z, meanwhile, is Motorola's current flagship phone, which uses modular "Moto Mod" backs to add functionality, like an optical zoom camera or pocket projector, to the Android phone.
Lenovo owns Motorola, and is shifting its mobile phone products to the Moto brand, he said. While Motorola is focused on being a prominent smartphone brand, something like Tango fits very well into the brand's plans, de Lencquesaing said.
"Augmented reality on a phone is a technology that's likely to stick," he said. "Of course we'll follow, or lead, the market in this area."