Samsung Gear VR review, release date, specs & update: preorders available through T-Mobile; device launching on Nov. 27, Black Friday
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The Samsung Gear VR is scheduled to be released on Nov. 27, Black Friday. Preorders for the virtual reality headset are available through T-Mobile.
The headsets will now be purchased by the public at the retail price of $99.99. It will be officially available starting Nov. 27 through retailers including Best Buy and online, according to Uber Gizmo. T-Mobile is the first mobile carrier of the Gear VR and it will be available through their stores as well.
The Gear VR needs to be connected to a Galaxy smartphone as its display. The consumer version is said to be compatible with Samsung's Galaxy lineup including Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+ and the Galaxy Note 5.
According to Geek Wire, the Gear VR was made in collaboration with Oculus, a company that was acquired not long ago by Facebook. The demo units reportedly contain an Oculus app which can be used to download VR apps for the gadget.
The consumer version has reportedly been improved. According to Apex Tribune, it now comes with better fabric and foams and more comfortable headsets, ones the developer kits did not have.
The website adds that there are new gaming apps that are available for Gear VR users. There are more than 15 titles that have been confirmed including Ustwo Games' "Land's End," Robot Invader's "Dead Secret" and Climax Studios' "Bandit Six: Salvo." There isn't much as of today, but the report says that there will be more when the Gear VR is out in stores.
Users can also watch videos through the gadget. They can tune in to Netflix, Hulu, Vimeo and YouTube.
The Gear vR's specifications were greatly detailed in Samsung's website. According to the company, the wearable tech is 318 grams in weight by itself without a smartphone and it is 19% lighter than the previous models that were the developer kits.
It has a 96 degrees field of view and a dimension of 201.9 x 116.4 x 92.6 mm. It has a touchpad that users can use to manually navigate including the volume key, focus adjustment wheel, touchpad and a back key. It is powered by three sensors including accelerometer, gyro and for proximity.
The Gear VR also has: "A Super AMOLED display, wide field of view, precise head-tracking and low latency brings reality to the virtual" which is as real as virtual reality can get.