The new Samsung Gear VR headset comes with expanded phone compatibility at an affordable price

posted by Mihai A. / Nov 10, 2015, 10:01 PM

The new Samsung Gear VR headset comes with expanded phone compatibility at an affordable price

Among the many tech giants that seem to be currently involved in the virtual reality space, Samsung appears to be the fastest one when it comes to bringing its products to market. Earlier today, Samsung has just announced its first consumer-oriented virtual reality headset, the Samsung Gear VR.

While Samsung Gear VR headsets have been around for a while now, these were enthusiast's devices that Samsung sold as part of its Innovator Edition series. The new version is the first one that drops the Innovator Edition tagline, which is probably Samsung's way of hinting that its Gear VR headsets are ready for prime time.

One major difference between the new Samsung Gear VR and the previous products is that the new headset is compatible with a range of Samsung's high-end Galaxy smartphones, not just one. The Gear VR can work with the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy S6, and Galaxy S6 edge.

Although the extended phone compatibility will certainly help with user adoption, it's the pricing of the product that most users will be drawn to. While the old Innovator Edition headsets were priced at $199, the new Samsung Gear VR will only cost $99.

Just like with all previous Gear VR headsets, we're looking at a collaboration between Samsung and Oculus. Unlike the full-blown Oculus Rift, however, which will launch in early 2016 as a wired VR headset that connects to your computer, the Samsung Gear VR are wireless products. Users just have to slot in a compatible Samsung Galaxy smartphone, equip the headset, and the virtual reality experience can commence.

If you're tempted, you'll be glad to know that the Samsung Gear VR will land alongside a slew of new gaming titles. The Oculus Store was already populated by a range of "made-for-VR games" such as Land's End, Bandit Six: Salvo, and Dead Secret, while titles such as Gunjack and Anshar Wars 2 are slated for an impending launch.

source: Oculus

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5 Comments

1. Ruturaj

Posts: 1484; Member since: Oct 16, 2014

Best buy listing says 'Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note 5 require a software update from your carrier.'

posted on Nov 10, 2015, 10:25 PM 2

2. GreatBigPhoney

Posts: 70; Member since: Jan 27, 2015

Unless I'm remembering incorrectly, the last update that came out for the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ on T-Mobile mentioned Gear VR in the changelog. So at least those users should be covered.

posted on Nov 11, 2015, 6:20 AM 1

5. Ruturaj

Ohh, I am on at&t and I guess last update did not mention anything about VR. When did you got that update?

posted on Nov 11, 2015, 12:28 PM 0

3. Landon

Posts: 1245; Member since: May 07, 2015

I've always wanted to try one of these out but never wanted to pay the $200. $100 seems much more reasonable considering the phone does all of the work.