Samsung last week began fulfilling orders for its Oculus-power Gear VR headset, giving U.S. consumers their first taste of Oculus VR's brand of virtual reality. International preorders have opened and have been expanding.
It won't be until early next year that Oculus VR begins shipping its full-featured Oculus Rift headset, but as a Gear VR collaborator, it has been touting Samsung's mobile-driven headset.
Like Google's Project Cardboard, the US$99 Gear VR relies on the processing power of a smartphone. Specifically, it relies on the power of a late-model Samsung handset: a Galaxy Note5, a Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge or a Galaxy S6 Edge Plus.
The Gear VR is fitted with lens, and it holds the smartphone in place. Oculus VR's software formats the content for the Galaxy devices' high-resolution displays.
Over 25 VR games are expected to arrive for Gear VR before the second half of next month. Gear VR supports Oculus VR's Social alpha, an early build of a VR meeting place that will allow friends -- or strangers -- to consume content in shared digital space.
Those sick of waiting for VR that won't make them sick can check out demos of Gear VR in select AT&T and Best Buy stores.
Those are the headsets expected to draw throngs of gamers -- the lot considered most likely to carry the industry to the mainstream.
That said, even though Gear VR's graphical fidelity may be leagues behind the experiences expected next year, a shift already may be taking place.
Geoffrey A. Fowler, for example, has been spending less time in the real world lately.
"You won't mistake what you see in there for reality -- you can clearly make out pixels, like when you'd sit too close to an old tube TV," he wrote in his review for MarketWatch. "Yet using the Gear VR for a week, I frequently found myself getting wrapped up in its virtual worlds, for longer and longer stretches."
It won't be until early next year that Oculus VR begins shipping its full-featured Oculus Rift headset, but as a Gear VR collaborator, it has been touting Samsung's mobile-driven headset.
Like Google's Project Cardboard, the US$99 Gear VR relies on the processing power of a smartphone. Specifically, it relies on the power of a late-model Samsung handset: a Galaxy Note5, a Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge or a Galaxy S6 Edge Plus.
The Gear VR is fitted with lens, and it holds the smartphone in place. Oculus VR's software formats the content for the Galaxy devices' high-resolution displays.
Over 25 VR games are expected to arrive for Gear VR before the second half of next month. Gear VR supports Oculus VR's Social alpha, an early build of a VR meeting place that will allow friends -- or strangers -- to consume content in shared digital space.
Getting Into Gear: The Reviews
The HTC Vive is due for a soft launch this holiday season, followed by widespread Q1 launch next year. Facebook-backed Oculus VR has scheduled the Oculus Rift for a Q1 release date as well, while Sony's Morpheus has been tentatively slated for launch in the first half of 2016.Those are the headsets expected to draw throngs of gamers -- the lot considered most likely to carry the industry to the mainstream.
That said, even though Gear VR's graphical fidelity may be leagues behind the experiences expected next year, a shift already may be taking place.
Geoffrey A. Fowler, for example, has been spending less time in the real world lately.
"You won't mistake what you see in there for reality -- you can clearly make out pixels, like when you'd sit too close to an old tube TV," he wrote in his review for MarketWatch. "Yet using the Gear VR for a week, I frequently found myself getting wrapped up in its virtual worlds, for longer and longer stretches."
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