Samsung Gear VR
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| Also known as | Gear VR |
|---|---|
| Developer | |
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Product family | |
| Type | Virtual reality headset |
| Release date | November 27, 2015 |
| Introductory price | US$99.99 |
| Units sold | 5 million |
| Display | Display of inserted smartphone |
| Controller input | Touchpad and back button |
| Touchpad | Yes |
| Weight | 318 grams (without smartphone) |
| Backward compatibility |
|
| Website | Official website |
The Samsung Gear VR is a mobile virtual reality headset developed by Samsung Electronics, in collaboration with Oculus, and manufactured by Samsung. The headset was released on November 27, 2015.
When in use, a compatible Samsung Galaxy device (Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6/S6 Edge/S6 Edge+, or Galaxy S7/S7 Edge) acts as the headset's display and processor, while the Gear VR unit itself acts as the controller, which contains the field of view, as well as a custom inertial measurement unit, or IMU, for rotational tracking, which connects to the smartphone via micro-USB. The Gear VR headset also includes a touchpad and back button on the side, as well as a proximity sensor to detect when the headset is on.
The Gear VR was first announced in September 2014. To allow developers to create content for the Gear VR and to allow VR and technology enthusiasts to get early access to the technology, Samsung had released two innovator editions of the Gear VR before the consumer version.
The Samsung Gear VR is designed to work with Samsung’s flagship smartphones. Currently supported are Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge，Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+.
The device can be calibrated using the wheel at the top of the headset. A trackpad is located on the right of the device and back button is located just above it. Volume can be adjusted through the volume rockers also found on the right hand side.
Some of the major goals Samsung set for this project regarding hardware were: that their headset could support MTP (Motion to Photon) latency less than 20 ms; the optimization of hardware and kernel; and also to create Galaxy Note 4’s QHD display that enables high-resolution rendering in the headset. The lenses field of view is 96° for the first three models and 101° for the R323.
Oculus Home is the main facility to download and use content on the Samsung Gear VR. Oculus Home is also the main line for software distribution on the Gear VR.
Although the Samsung Gear VR consumer edition was released in November 2015, Samsung had obtained a patent on a HMD (Head Mounted Display) in January 2005. This was one of the first ideas of using a mobile phone as the display for a HMD. However, mobile phone technology at the time the patent was submitted limited the degree of quality and performance possible. Samsung continued to research VR and HMD internally.
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