Samsung has its hands in all sorts of pies – too many pies, some might suggest – so it was no surprise to learn in May from Engadget that it was working on a virtual reality headset that would launch in 2014.
Samsung is said to be hurrying along development of its Gear VR in order to not fall behind rivals such as the Oculus Rift. According to a source close to Samsung early versions of the Gear VR are already with developers.
SamMobile reports that the Gear VR will be unveiled alongside the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 at the IFA trade show in September.
Although no pricing has been confirmed for the Samsung Gear VR, the fact that it doesn’t use sensors built into the device itself but those of a docked smartphone means Samsung should be able to keep down costs and undercut its rivals.
The Gear VR is a virtual reality headset that works only with high-end Samsung devices, for example the Note 3 and Galaxy S5, which are docked via USB 3.0. The Gear VR has an OLED display and runs the Tizen OS and other software being developed with Oculus VR.
The virtual reality effect is possible through head-tracking using the docked smartphone’s accelerometer, gyroscope and processing power.
According to SamMobile the Gear VR has an elastic headband and soft padded cushions to make it comfortable to wear. On the right side is a clear button which allows the docked smartphone’s camera to provide a clear view of the real world. A touchpad here also lets you use the smartphone while it is docked.
You can expect to see dedicated Samsung apps for the Gear VR. At first only apps such as Theatre, 360 Player and Gallery will be available, but the SDK will be made available to third party developers soon after launch.
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