Samsung held its Unpacked event at IFA earlier today and along with a new Note Edge, the company also unveiled its VR headset. Surprisingly, the new product was developed with help from Oculus, which was recently acquired by Facebook, and the two companies will work together to create content for the new headset.
The Gear VR, as you can see in the image above, is quite basic, featuring nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to VR headsets. The product allows you to view content in 360 degrees like the Oculus Rift but has a Samsung device powering the experience.
The big downfall here is that the headset works by inserting a Galaxy Note 4 into the device as it uses that screen to drive the VR experience. This will be a large barrier for many users as the headset is now a peripheral to the Note 4 and, at this time, can only be used with that device. So, if you don't plan on buying a Galaxy Note 4, you should look elsewhere for your VR fix.
One good aspect about this device is Samsung is continuing its partnership with Oculus which means that content is expected to work not just on Samsung's headsets but also on the Rift. By having a common platform, it makes content creation easier for developers as they don't have to create multiple formats of the same content.
No word on what the price will be for the headset but the Galaxy Note 4 will likely cost several hundred dollars like its predecessors.
12 Comments - Add comment