Samsung’s first virtual reality product, developed in collaboration with Oculus, is now available for pre-order for $99. Gear VR requires a recent Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
Gear VR for smartphones
Facebook acquired Oculus a few years ago and one of the first major partnerships were signed with Samsung. Samsung can use some of Oculus’ technology and will sell the Gear VR as a mobile virtual reality product.
The South Korean company has sold a so-called Gear VR “Innovator’s Edition” to developers for some time but new Gear VR is the first product intended for the consumer market.
- “The new Gear VR is 19% lighter than the previous Innovator Edition and features improved ergonomics plus a completely redesigned touchpad for easier navigation. Gear VR is also compatible with even more Samsung smartphones, including the Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 edge+, S6, and S6 edge.” says Samsung.
Several games will be available at launch, including Land’s End by Ustwo Games, Bandit Six: Salvo by Climax Studios, and Dead Secret by Robot Invader. Gunjack by CCP and Anshar Wars 2 by OZWE are coming soon.
You can play 20 classic games through Oculus Arcade and from Oculus Video you can watch Netflix, Twitch, Vimeo, and rent Hollywood movies. Oculus 360 Photos has a collection of over 200,000 360-degree photos.
Gear VR is available from Amazon
, Best Buy and samsung.com. The release date is November 20th.
Read our hands-on impressions with Gear VR and look forward to a full review.
