{"id":8512,"date":"2015-12-08T10:10:19","date_gmt":"2015-12-08T10:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.wordpress\/?p=8512"},"modified":"2015-12-08T10:10:19","modified_gmt":"2015-12-08T10:10:19","slug":"samsung-gear-vr-virtual-reality-for-the-masses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adorama.com\/alc\/samsung-gear-vr-virtual-reality-for-the-masses\/","title":{"rendered":"Samsung Gear VR: Virtual Reality for the Masses?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Techies everywhere have long wondered when virtual reality, the unexplored frontier of entertainment technology, might find its way into the everyday lives of consumers. Although several competitors arrived in the marketplace earlier, Samsung\u2019s Gear VR<\/a> headset, a collaboration with VR company Oculus, could be the device needed to make VR viable for mass consumption. While the Gear VR is still only a step above the semi-DIY Google Cardboard, it combines affordable simplicity and a professional design from a recognized company that makes it a very tempting purchase for just $100.<\/p>\n

Inside the Gear VR<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n

Like Google Cardboard, Samsung\u2019s Gear VR is essentially a headset built to fit your phone, although it\u2019s notably more sophisticated.<\/p>\n

For $100, Gear VR provides more than a sleek design and a way to hold your phone really close your face. Improving on early designs, Gear VR features an intuitive control system using a touchpad on the side of the headset. It\u2019s also specifically designed for four phones: Samsung 6, Samsung 6 Edge, Note 5 and 6 Edge +. Although this four-phone compatibility considerably limits the potential consumers, the headset\u2019s design greatly benefits from being custom fitted to just a few phone sizes.<\/p>\n

The interface–what you\u2019ll actually see when the Gear VR is strapped to your head–is where Oculus comes in. The Oculus app used in Gear VR provides the platform for gaming, video and other entertainment apps, which you can navigate using the touchpad and menu button. The other clear benefit of the Gear VR relying on the Oculus app is the ability to update and improve the interface experience over time without requiring changes to the actual VR hardware.<\/p>\n

There are a few other very handy features and upgrades from the early version of Gear VR:<\/p>\n