Ladies, gents, young, old, and everyone in between, the future of technology has finally arrived with the latest version of the Samsung Gear VR, which was released late last year. This unit fits the more recent Samsung phones: Galaxy 6, 6 edge, Note 5, and of course the new Galaxy 7 and 7 edge.
It is a super simple set up: just snap your phone into the headset and you are ready to go. Unlike other VR gear you are no longer tethered to a computer. Roam and be free! Although please do be careful if you do decide to walk around with the headset because you may be laughed at if you trip and fall. So, with that being said, it may work best to have a chair that swivels so that you can have the full virtual reality experience with a lesser chance of injury.
Once your phone is locked into place with the clasps the Oculus app will start up and launch you into a virtual world. You are able to look around in 360 but you can’t interact with it, it is just the main menu screen where you will pick the apps and games that you want.
The Oculus app renders pairs of images, side by side, but when you look through the Gear VR’s biconvex lenses, you see it as one, merged single image. When you pair the optical illusion with the phone’s motion sensors, that track your head’s movement, it gives a fairly convincing illusion that you have been taken to a new place.
The Gear VR also has some social apps as well. Have long distance friendships / relationships? Make an avatar and check out the Oculus Cinema and enjoy a movie with them. You can choose different locations such as a living room setting, Movie Theater, and even the moon. Yes, that’s right, the moon. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to have a virtual movie party on the moon?
You can pick up the Samsung VR for $100.00 US new, or you can get them slightly cheaper if you want a used one. Either way for that price, it is absolutely worth the buy!
