A new Samsung Gear VR will soon be here with us. If you are keeping check, then you need to understand that this is for sure not the 4th iteration of Oculus VR headset (Korean company). It was released alongside the Samsung Galaxy Smartphone (Note 7). The latest costs the same price as the predecessor, ninety-nine dollars and will be released in August 19th. It can be packed in a USB adaptor type-C, making it easy to plug in the newest handset.
This is not an indication that the S7 edge and S7 owners will miss the improved reality action. You can actually pop the adaptor out and change it to the regular micro USB one. It is not difficult to do so; a small module pops up from the front section.
Design
When it comes to the visual side, Samsung has managed to widen the angle of viewing to more than 100 degrees and has also been successful when it comes to darkening the tint for the purpose of reducing the reflection and glare.
Amongst other new features other than a USB-C port connecting to the Note 7 and wider viewing angle, the gadget comes equipped with an improved navigation, better and thicker face padding for enhanced comfort besides the pitch black paint all over the device including the sides (not the black and white panda pattern in the previous device designs).
Included also in the box is a micro-USB adapter, which works with the older models of Samsung devices. There is a second USB-C port sitting on top of the gadget with a compatibility, which Samsung referred to as for future accessories. The USB-C port can transfer data as well and potentially has also opened up opportunity for other things like gamepads, motion controllers while eliminating the need to rely on Bluetooth connection, which sometimes proves to be slow. There is a touchpad situated on the right side which now is flat and not buried as in older model. There is a home button for Oculus for the home screen so one doesn’t need to long press back button as was previously seen.
User Experience
After getting our head in the ultra modern Gear VR headset during a recent briefing, we can certify that it is way better compared to the consumer edition that landed in the end of the previous year. It is not a rival of Vive or Rift, but it has for certain blown the mobile VR competition. The Oculus Home button is a really great feature and quite an improvement to the previous devices where you had to press and hold the back button, which was slower in jumping out or even into an app.
We attempted one option with Note7 that was packed in one with the S7 and certainly the big-screened variant won out. Perhaps our minds were playing us. We surely need many heads for the purpose of making a conclusive opinion but overall this new Gear VR headset is similar to the 2015 one with little added and improved features. It’s still the best mobile VR gadget for those owning Galaxy Note 7 to buy and experience virtual reality.
Comfort Claims
Comfort has also been upgraded to a whole new level. The weird thing is that the Gear VR samples that Samsung had, did not have phones front-loaded. Therefore, the only model we managed to try with straps did not have the extra weight of the handset. We certainly have to verify Samsungs comfort claims when doing the reviews.
The only thing that can be fully verified is that the method of physical control from the inside has been upgraded. The navigation touchpad that is used for navigating through the menu is easier to use and there is also a modern Oculus button that can be used to get access to oculus home.
Price
This has proved even more appealing and a welcome news to many esteemed customers as the new Gear VR, which will commence its sale on the nineteenth of August. It will ship for 99 US dollars, 80 Pounds Sterling which actually is similar price to the previous year’s model.
Samsung’s new Gear VR has a wider field of view
Users
Samsung has made claims on having more than a million users of Gear VR, which is impressive. Hopefully the number will shoot up once the new and improved Gear VR gets on sale. This will definitely work with the S6 Edge, S6, Galaxy note 7, S7 Edge, Note 5, and the S6 edge +
Read more here: Oculus Reportedly Building its Own Games for Rift
Conclusion
Many had predicted and expected 2016 to be the VR year though it has failed to deliver. There was a slow uptake in high end and full virtual reality attributable to the delay in shipping by Oculus and pricing by HTC Vive.
The new Gear VR in overall is a more improved and polished as well as a tighter version laid out by Samsung (since the original release in 2014) for virtual reality vision. It is easy to use and sells at a fair price of $99; it is a nice upgrade from the company as it still aims to release higher resolution devices which are better and newer.
