Tango's extra hardware was for depth sensing, and low-energy feature tracking, but the basic technique of plane detection from what I understand, is the same technique ARKit uses, which came from Flyby according to one article I read. In 2014 when Tango was released, even Apple HW wasn't powerful enough to run the tracking in software alone.

I have a feeling the end game of this is going to be that Tango-like devices are used for mapping the world, and ARKit like libraries consume the geometry.

That is, not everyone has to own a device with depth sensing. For example, if Streetview-like services using LIDAR, or if self driving cars with LIDAR, map point clouds of most outside areas, and merchants and vendors map into areas with specialized Tango-like HW, then most of the benefits of depth sensing AR can be had for people without depth sensors.

It would be a mostly static 3D map of the world, not frequently updated, but probably good enough to enable a large number of apps.

> but people could always switch Android OEMs to get something cheaper if they don't see the value.

The kind of people that buy flagship Android phones would probably either see the value or be price insensitive enough not to switch over it.

OTOH, “works ok now” is often more important than “works better later”, so getting something out that will work with today's flagships has value even if Tango would be practical down the road.

"but people could always switch Android OEMs to get something cheaper if they don't see the value."

Not really. If you're someone who values updates, you're kinda stuck paying for a certain tier of device.