Virtual reality may be a little slow to hit the mainstream, but Samsung is here to help and today during their MWC 2017 event in Barcelona they took the wraps off a brand new Gear VR headset that now comes with a controller and more ergonomic design.
Join us after the break for more.
The new Gear VR will be Samsung's first virtual reality headset that comes with its own controller. Other companies, such as Google with their Daydream VR headset, have shown the benefit to incorporating controller input to the VR experience. Powered by a touchpad design, it will be much easier to interact with VR apps, make selections and navigate around the interface. Motion controls will also be able to sense things like points, tilts, drag and drop functionality, as well as work with VR games using the Trigger. A raised back button and a dimpled home button will allow for easy interaction so you can focus more on what you're doing.
The headset itself is a little heavier than previous Gear VR headsets at 345 grams, but a new curved and ergonomic design could potentially offset that and still provide a relatively comfortable experience. Samsung is including some kind of advanced distortion correction to help reduce motion sickness so often found with VR devices and the 42mm lens will give a 101-degree field of view.
Younghee Lee, the Executive Vice President of Mobile Communications Business at Samsung, remarked that, “At Samsung, we are focused on setting and exceeding the standard for VR experiences, making them even more accessible and delivering the highest in quality. The Gear VR with Controller expands our VR ecosystem to help consumers get more engaged and immersed in VR content – whether it’s games or videos.”
The new Gear VR with controller will be compatible with the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6, S6 Edge+ and S6 Edge models. Pricing and availability hasn't been announced yet, but we will keep our eyes out for that information when its available.
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