Tag Archives: Samsung Gear VR Consumer Edition

New Samsung 2016 Gear VR Announced

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5 August 2016 – With improved lenses and ergonomics, as well as expanded compatibility with more Samsung smartphones and USB devices, the new and improved 2016 Gear VR headset challenges the very concept of virtual reality, redefining the limits of what it’s capable of.

 

New 2016 Gear VR

Brought to life by the Samsung Galaxy smartphone, the 2016 Gear VR provides the ultimate in engaging content, putting users in the center of the action for a more immersive experience. Together with the Galaxy Note7, the device is a gateway to new experiences and great adventures.

 

 

A Refined Design

The most evident change of the 2016 Gear VR is its new body color, Blue Black. Not only does this new hue enhance the device’s aesthetic, but it also helps to prevent light reflection to provide a more cinematic experience than the previous model. In addition, the device now also features a home key that instantly directs users to Oculus Home, the official landing page of Gear VR.

 

Expanded Compatibility, Enhanced Connectivity

With two different device holders—USB Type-C and Micro USB—included as inbox items, the new 2016 Gear VR is compatible with more Samsung smartphones, including the Galaxy Note7, S7, S7 edge, Note5, S6, S6 edge and S6 edge+.

Furthermore, an external USB port (USB Hub 2.0) has been added to enable connectivity with third-party USB devices, as well as charging during use. With the ability to connect to a wider array of external sensors, motion controllers, 4D experience tools and OTG USB memory, the 2016 Gear VR offers an experience that is more interactive than ever before.

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Optical Lenses That Can See More

The new 2016 Gear VR headset is also equipped with larger lenses. With an increased diameter of 42 millimeters, the lenses improve the field of view to 101 degrees to offer a more natural feel.

And, with Samsung’s crystal clear Super AMOLED displays, users can enjoy low persistence images, along with a high 60 frames-per-second frame rate for less motion blur and juddering. As a result, virtual reality content viewed on the Gear VR is now even more realistic.

 

Seamless Navigation of More Contents

To enable users to make full use of the new 2016 Gear VR, Samsung offers a vaster selection of high quality VR content with intuitive content navigation.

With the Gear VR web browser, users can browse more than 300 VR apps including over a hundred games, along with a variety of videos, educational apps and immersive experiences. The Samsung Picks section offers a list of 15 recommended apps for those looking to try something new.

The browser is easy to use, and the immersive graphic user interface creates a seamless environment so users can enjoy their favorite 2D and 3D contents.

Forward looking and backward compatible, the new Gear VR is capable of breaking down the barriers of what today’s virtual reality technology can do, and what tomorrow’s can offer.

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First Gear VR Experience With Samsung Galaxy S7 edge

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At the sneak peek of the new Samsung Galaxy S7 edge smartphone yesterday, we were also given the opportunity to try out the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge with the Gear VR Consumer Edition virtual reality headset. In fact, Samsung took us (virtually) to the Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona, Spain, through seven 3D videos.

If you are wondering, this is exactly the same Samsung Gear VR Consumer Edition (SM-R322) that was launched on the 20th of November 2015. Although it was officially designed for the Samsung Galaxy S6 / S6 edge / S6 edge+ and the Galaxy Note5, it appears that they had already planned to make it compatible with the new Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge smartphones as well.

The Samsung Gear VR Consumer Edition (Amazon) is the improved version of the Gear VR Innovator Edition (Amazon). It not only supports more devices, it also comes with an improved touchpad on the right side of the headset. Another improvement is the addition of a cutout in the Gear VR frame to allow the insertion of a headphone jack. This allows for a more immersive experience.

If you look closely at the lower left corner of Gear VR’s front, you will see the labels next to the adjustment locks that this is the Gear VR Consumer Edition (Amazon) originally released for the Samsung Galaxy S6 / S6 edge / S6 edge+ and the Galaxy Note5.

Incidentally, the Consumer Edition of the Samsung Gear VR is 19 percent lighter than the original Innovator Edition, and features better foam cushioning.

 

Performance

[adrotate banner=”4″]The Samsung Galaxy S7 edge unit you see paired with the Gear VR Consumer Edition (Amazon) in this article is an engineering sample. So there were some glitches in getting Oculus VR to start up. For some reason, it loaded Google search with the keyboard instead.

But once we “fixed” the problem, it performed exactly like the Note5 did with the Gear VR Consumer Edition. That’s no surprise since both devices have similar sized screens (5.5″ vs. 5.7″) with the same resolution – 1440 x 2560.

 

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If you like our work, you can help support out work by visiting our sponsors, participate in the Tech ARP Forums, or even donate to our fund. Any help you can render is greatly appreciated!