The Samsung Gear VR is an accessory for the latest set of Samsung Galaxy series smartphones that gives the capability to play virtual reality games. The Samsung Gear VR is designed by a virtual reality company called Oculus. The virtual reality headset is very affordable retailing for about US $99.
I was initially skeptical when I saw the price of this accessory because the notion of any type of virtual reality hardware usually equates to spending a lot of my rent money. So, to satisfy my curiosity I decided to visit one of the recently opened Samsung stores in my area.
All, I will say is “wow!” in that the quality of the graphics as well as the gameplay of some of the games that I was able to demo was quite superb indeed. Samsung have done their homework when they decided to time the launch of the Gear VR with the Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone and Gear S2 smartwatch.
The reason that Samsung was able to partner with the good folks at Oculus to produce a virtual reality headset for under $100 was because the Gear VR actually leverages the processing power and screen of the smartphone itself. As I mentioned earlier, the VR headset is designed to work with a subset of Samsung’s smartphone line (pretty much the latest phones that they have released to date), namely:
- Samsung Note 5
- Samsung Galaxy S6
- Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
- Samsung Galaxy S7
- Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Along the front of the VR headset is a black cover which you can remove to expose a phone cradle where the smartphone is inserted.
When setting up your phone for the first time you simply turn on your phone and also ensure that you have unlocked it before inserting it into the VR headset. When inserting the phone there is a plug on the inside of the VR headset (along the left hand side) that you insert into the base of the phone. The other end of the phone is then pushed into the headset until it clicks into place. You will then here a quick beeping sound, signifying that the phone has been successfully installed.
Next, you put on the headset and follow the initial setup instructions after which you are instructed to take the phone out of the Gear VR to complete the installation of the Oculus applications, setup an account at the Oculus online application store and so forth.
Once you have completed the setup process you simply run the installed Oculus application, login to your account and browse the many VR games on the app store. Once you find games that you like you can purchase them for immediate download to your phone. To access the games you would be greeted with a virtual reality 3D menu once you put the Gear VR on your head. It is through this menu that you will see all of your downloaded games and applications that you can play and use. Another feature that is great able this headset is that there is a built in sensor that detects when you put the headset on and automatically turns on the display.
Two if my current favorites are Gunjack, a 3D space shooter game, and VR Karts Sprint, a cartoon-like version of the ever popular Mario Kart from the Nintendo platform. There are tons of other great 3D games available as well which I do plan to test out and provide an honest review on.
GunJack on Gear VR
VR Karts on Gear VR
Netflix also comes pre-installed as an application that you can use to watch movies in a virtual reality room on what looks like a very large screen TV set. The graphics of the actually movies within the 3D worlds are not true HD like you would see if watching Netflix directly on your smartphone’s screen but it is good enough to watch movies in a virtual reality world however.
The Gear VR headset comes with two straps with adjustable Velcro tabs that are quite simple to install on the main unit. The two straps serve as stable head mount that ensures that your virtual reality headset remains securely on your head as you are free to move it around without any fear of the Gear VR falling off.
When looking into the Gear VR you will see two large lenses which you would normally look through as each lens is focused on a separate screen on your smartphone. The way the 3D images are displayed to the naked eye is by creating two separate screens on your single smartphone screen. Each screen will have an image of the video game or application generated within it, and, coupled with the built-in lenses on your Gear VR gives you that immersive 3D virtual world experience.
There is also enough room inside the headset to accommodate anyone wearing a pair of glasses as well. The only issue I had however, is that you have to very careful not to have your forehead touch the lenses as you put on the headset which would result in smudges forming on the lenses.
On the right hand side of the Gear VR there is volume rocker switch which is used to adjust sound. There is also a touch-sensitive D-Pad which you can use to play games and navigate menus and there is also the familiar “back” button that is found on your typical Android handset. I must point out that navigating menus is very easy because the headset actually uses your head motions to control a virtual mouse pointer.
Seeing that the Gear VR can be battery hungry (remember that your smartphone is simulating the operation of two screens) your smartphone can run low on power after a while as well as get pretty hot at times. That being said, there is an mini USB charging port located on the side of the Gear VR that you can plug an external power supply into (it would be same power supply that you would use to charge your Samsung phone). When the phone is plugged into an external power source your battery will remain charged and you can play your VR games for hours without any battery drainage or overheating phones.
Some of the games that you can find in the Oculus app store do require a wireless gamepad and Samsung does have a Bluetooth gamepad on the market that is designed to work specifically with the Gear VR. To be honest, though, any Bluetooth Gamepad should be able to work with your Samsung phone when it is in the Gear VR headset. I did carry out a test to see if this theory held true. I used a Moga Pro Power Bluetooth gamepad that works on the Android platform (perfect for Samsung Android phones) and it worked perfectly.
In summary, for $99 you are getting your hands on a great accessory for your Samsung phone. When you put on the headset, it feels very comfortable on your face, thanks to the Velcro adjustable padding, and all of the light and distractions of the outside world disappear as you are greeted with a full 360 degree view of a very realistic looking 3D virtual environment. It would have been great if you had special gloves or hand sensors that can let you see your virtual hands within the virtual digital environment, so I am guessing that would be in the next iteration of the Gear VR, called the Gear VR 2.0 perhaps.
You can get them from Amazon here if you want to get in on the virtual reality craze for under a hundred bucks.
Also checkout my YouTube review videos of this great little device below.