Samsung wants to conquer every part of the mobile world. Whether we’re talking about phones, tablets, laptops, wearables, mobile services – they want to be in every possible market.
VR seems like a logical step forward for the Korean giant and yes, they’ve used the big show in Berlin to officially announce the earlier rumored Samsung Gear VR.
But… you won’t be able to get one just yet. What Samsung announced is the VR Innovator Edition device, which will be offered to content producers and app/game developers to optimize their stuff for the “new virtual reality.” Some of the companies that are already on board are Marvel (for the next Avengers movie), IMAX, DreamWorks, Legendary, Cirque du Soleil, M-GO Advanced, Qualcomm Vuforia and Imanji Studios (maker of the popular Temple Run game). Beyond that, we expect to see an army of smaller teams jumping on the opportunity to make money from early adopters, who — chances are — will come from the affluent members of society.
Anyhow, just like we’ve told you before, the Gear VR has limited hardware capabilities, relying on the newly announced Galaxy Note 4 for power and display. The unit itself has its own touchpad, a back button, and a volume key, but I’m sure you’ll also be able to pair it with a gamepad and benefit from the often promised “immersive gaming” experience.
Oculus provided the software and it will in turn get latest displays from Samsung for its own headsets (or so we’re hearing). Said software consists of Oculus Home (for connecting to the Oculus Store with VR content), Oculus Cinema (virtual movie theater), Oculus 360 Videos and Oculus 360 Photos. Guess those videos are not exactly full-blown movies or something.
Since this isn’t the ready-for-the-masses product, Samsung failed to mention the price. We are kinda afraid this won’t be a cheap device even though you’ll likely have to pour out a small fortune to first get the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. So we’re opting for the Google Cardboard solution until something more affordable is out. And something everyone, not just innovators, can buy. 😉