Samsung will soon offer a Gear VR controller

by Kaloyan C. / Feb 26, 2017, 1:44 PM

Samsung will soon offer a Gear VR controller

Samsung will start selling a new bundle of its Gear VR headset, bundled with a brand-new controller. The bundle will include the 2016 version of the Gear VR, co-developed together with Oculus, which was released together with the ill-fated Samsung Galaxy Note 7, with the only notable difference being the addition of a new strap designed to also hold the controller.

As for the controller itself, it's more reminiscent of the HTC Vive's, rather than Oculus' own Rift controller, as it features a circular touch pad with only a few physical buttons. It was designed exclusively for one-hand use, and lets users "select, grab, take aim, and fire.”

Oculus claims more than 70 titles will soon implement support for the new controller, and a public SDK will be released in the near future. Release date and pricing are currently unavailable, but the Gear VR, sans controller, currently retails at $99.99.

source: Oculus

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6 Comments

1. darkkjedii

Posts: 30971; Member since: Feb 05, 2011

About time. I hardly use mine anymore, but that's a nice addition.

posted on Feb 26, 2017, 2:03 PM 0

3. sgodsell

Posts: 7223; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

Samsung's new controller is similar to Google's Daydream's 9-axis touch pad controller. This only makes sense, especially when Samsung's Gear VR was missing some form of spacial awareness. Now developers can bring some spacial awareness to their Gear VR apps. Just like Daydream VR compatible devices, like the Pixels.