Samsung Gear VR's Motion Controller, Hands On

[Guest]

Another year, another update to the Gear VR. Still one of the most ubiquitous mobile VR systems, the Gear VR is Samsung’s proprietary platform that turns a Galaxy (or Note) phone into a VR headset.

Samsung Gear VR's Motion Controller, Hands On : Read more

 

[John Wittenberg]

Huh. My 2016 Gear VR headset fits the S8+ just fine. Of course I had to switch out the connector with the included USB type C one, but other than that no issues.

 

[therealduckofdeath]

Yeah, the 2016 model that came with the Note 7 launch is the same as the one sold now. They're selling the controller separately for anyone who wants it.

 

[Joe Black]

I have one, but the batteries which were included lasted about 30s. So I have not gotten around to buying new ones yet.

Mostly because I really just do not want to be tied into the Oculus ecosystem. And believe me I tried to use the Gear with SteamVR with no luck.

So yeah I really wish samsung could distance themselves from Oculus. And provide native support for streaming from a PC, with optional gear to do 6dof and better controllers. Samsung, like all the manufacturers of displays and a great tech and design company in general, is ideally positioned to really push VR gear. Yet their marriage with Oculus has held them back.

 

[Joe Black]

I should add that with the gear VR headset it should be simple for Samsung to sell a standalone screen to substitute for one of their phones for customers who want to make use of the power of their PCs.

Using the Gear as a selling point for their phones might work to some extent, but I am pretty sure they'll sell many more Gear headsets and gear screens seperately.

They could have a whole range of screens. From low-end to to high-end. They'll sell hundres of thousands of those, if not millions if they went that route.

 

[ObamasBFF]

Wow, this is one of the whiniest reviewers I've ever heard. I just yesterday for the first time used the Gear VR with the S7 from one of my friends and having a full Oculus Rift setup at home and having been using VR since DK1 - I figured I'd get something, running on a phone, that wasn't very impressive and I was quite wrong. I'm an Apple guy but the VR stuff was good enough it's making me consider switching. The only real issue with the Gear VR is the low frame rate - if you're going to take VR seriously you need to have at least 90fps - and yes that's a steep hill to climb in mobile, but it really stood out. But as far as accuracy went, as far as the VR experience went, it was really impressive. This guy above is just whining about stuff - there's a difference between being critical and having unrealistic expectations. Yeah it's not on par with my $800 Oculus Rift setup on a $3000k desktop, but it's much much better than it has any right to be just putting a phone into it. With iPhones being such ridiculously powerful systems with amazing graphically performance it's a shame Apple isn't diving into a VR and it might drive me off the platform all together, the Oculus Gear VR was that good.