Samsung claims the Gear VR is only compatible with three controllers: the Samsung El-GP20 gamepad, Moga’s Pro Power, and Steel Series’ Android controller. However, it’s important to point out that most Gear VR games still look pixelated, but this is to be expected given the fact that the Gear is powered by a high-end smartphone. In comparison, Google Cardboard is designed to work with almost all Android smartphones, which often leads to resolution related issues and lacklustre head tracking. This means the Gear VR’s head tracking capability is exceptionally responsive and that its resolution is always a consistent 2560 x 1440 pixels. Because Samsung knows exactly which smartphones can be used with the Gear VR, the company is able to optimize the headset for its four flagship phones. While the fact that the Gear VR is only compatible with four smartphones, all of which are made by Samsung, is disappointing, from a hardware perspective this decision makes sense. The Gear VR is going to be many people’s first experience with virtual reality, which means even Samsung’s competitors in the space have a lot riding on its success. Samsung’s Gear VR is the first major virtual reality headset to hit the market and has a lot to prove to the average consumer. Just make sure you have the right smartphone you’ll need a Galaxy S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+ or Note 5.
Samsung’s experimental VR headset has various flaws, but if you’re looking for an affordable, entry-level VR experience that gives you an idea of what the technology’s future holds, Gear VR is a significant improvement over Google’s often disappointing Cardboard VR. I don’t know if it was the circumstances under which I tried the headset – a busy convention centre bustling with thousands of people – or the lacklustre demo I was thrown into, but I walked away from my first experience with the Gear VR feeling underwhelmed.īut I was wrong Gear VR is the real deal. While every VR headset has impressed me in some respect, my initial reaction to Samsung’s Gear VR was resoundingly negative. I’ve tried almost every upcoming virtual reality headset: HTC’s Vive, PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, Google Cardboard, and most recently, Samsung’s Gear VR, a device I initially passed off as a smartphone manufacturer cashing in on emerging technology. Didn’t the industry already fail to create next-generation VR headsets back in the 90s?īut it wasn’t until I actually placed a virtual reality headset on my face for the first time that I realized the technology’s potential and how it’s poised to change the future of how we experience the digital world. At the time, the idea of strapping a screen to my face seemed like another gimmick. It was 3D television technology reincarnated. When the Oculus Rift first emerged on Kickstarter in early 2013, I dismissed the concept of virtual reality as a passing fad, something I’d never be interested in. To really understand what virtual reality brings to gaming, communication and video, the technology needs to be experienced first-hand. When your head moves in the real world, it also moves in the virtual one, a simultaneous perspective. VR puts you inside a digital landscape, giving a 360-degree view of the virtual world around you. It’s the perfect confluence of our real and digital lives.
One of the most significant challenges in covering virtual reality is finding the correct words to describe the experience.