Have you ever walked into a theatre and thought to yourself that this isn’t the best seat in the house? Ever wished that you could experience top visuals, have a surreal viewing experience in the comfort of your house in your pyjamas? Well, you are in for a treat my friend.
Samsung Gear VR, where VR stands for Virtual Reality, brings the future to your doorsteps. While VR has been knocking on the doorsteps of technology for quite some time now, the devices so far has been bulky, and for lack of a better word, plain ugly! Samsung Gear VR changes the game and does it spectacularly. Here is what you need to know to be convinced that yes this is a worthy gadget to lighten that wallet of yours. However, is it all good without any blemishes? Read and find out.
Play with the Display
Yes the display is that good that you will be walking on the thin line between reality and virtual reality. You can enjoy both 180 degrees views and 360 degrees, though currently there is more focus on 180 degrees content and yet some time to go before 360 degrees is cracked and its content becomes common. Using Samsung smartphones with super AMOLED display will give you an excellent visual experience. However, constantly staring into the screen from such a close range will make you feel nauseous at the beginning. The video quality matters too. The higher the resolution, the better will be your VR experience.
Some lines on the Design
Weighing in at 318 grams without any smartphone attached to it, the Samsung Gear VR takes some time to get used to wearing. This is however the lighter version with a 19% decrease in weight in comparison to the model that has been released prior to the current one. As a result, it is not such a hindrance to wear it for a long time at a stretch and you can actually get used to it after the initial awkwardness wears off.
It comes with comfortable foam cushioning to ease you into wearing it and the touchpad on the side is also larger making it more user-friendly and increasing its functionality. The volume keys also find a presence on the sides of the Samsung Gear VR and there is also a focus adjustment wheel present. A micro USB is placed for your charging requirements.
Content is King on the Gear VR
Not everyone uses Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends. Some do it to play Candy Crush. Some people use it to run an e-commerce page. And some people use it to stalk others! What I am bringing you to note is that, what matters most is what you provide with your app, software, hardware. At the end of the day, it is not only design that will matter but also the things you can do, watch, play, act and enact using a Samsung Gear VR that will keep patrons glued to the device.
In such a case, content is king. With Virtual Reality being the new awesome kid in the block, it still has to get decent amount of content to keep people fixed and glued in. The amount of things that you can do with this Gear is increasing with time, but for now it is not such an exhaustive list. That does not mean there is nothing you can do. From watching movies, to music videos and TV shows, and playing games – the list is ever so slowly increasing and becoming even more awesome by the day.
It can only get better with time. Currently, more than the content, the Gear VR seems to be about the immersive viewing experience that is banked upon. However more content and better content will come with time. You can also view photographs and just about any content that you have stored in your Samsung smartphones.
Compatibility with Smartphones
It is usually Samsung smartphones that are most compatible with the Samsung Gear VR. For best experience you need to use one among the four latest top notch Samsung smartphones. What this means, is that, if you intend to get 100 per cent your money’s worth out of the Samsung Gear VR, you better already have a Samsung S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+ or a Galaxy Note 5 at hand. Now this is not something everyone will be happy about, especially those who do not own and use a Samsung smart phone, but that is how it stands in currently. Will Samsung ensure that the Samsung Gear VR can be used along with other smartphones? Well, that is a question for the future and Samsung to answer.
Pay before you play
At $99 as starting price, this is by no means the cheapest VR set that you can get. However the cheaper options do not stand much a chance in terms of the features offered when they come face to face with Samsung. With Oculus planning to make a big launch next year in the same sector, Samsung does have decent competition coming its way. That being said, the Oculus Rift is expected to be way more costly than the $99 that Samsung is selling its Gear VR for. One huge drawback will be the phones that are compatible with it and thus people who do not own a Samsung smartphone will hardly be interested in buying it.
Final Word on the Samsung Gear VR
To buy or not to buy, that is the question. If you are dying to try it, then you should definitely buy it. One big crucial factor will be the fact that do you own a Samsung smartphone currently or not. If yes, then regardless of its flaws and shortcomings the Samsung Gear VR is actually a cool gadget that is bound to turn heads and capture attention. This is far from the worst tech gadget that you can invest your money in for a wonderful surreal experience and to convince people against VR that this indeed is the future.
