Oculus Connect 2’s keynote talk has just kicked off in Hollywood, California, and it’s already hosted a big surprise.
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“Together with Samsung, we’ve redefined virtual reality and created the best mobile VR experience available today”.
There’s also a new Gear VR Gamepad which all the Oculus Connect conference attendees will get for free.
Samsung first introduced the Gear VR headset, which makes use of consumer’s phones for computing and displaying VR experiences, in September of 2014.
As soon as the announcement about the Gear VR was made, there was a rush to compare it to the Innovator Edition of the device, which was far costlier and priced at $199. Available later today will be an Netflix app, while other video streaming apps coming in the future include those from Fox, Lionsgate, Tivo, Vimeo, and Hulu.
The new gear, which Samsung claims is 22 percent lighter than the previous Gear VR Innovator Edition, has an accelerator, gyrometer, proximity (mount/unmount detection) sensor and is more comfortable to wear.
The Samsung Gear VR was first announced back in July 2014 with the South Korean company pulling off something of a coup to partner with arguably the leading virtual reality (VR) headset maker, Oculus. The headset, called the Gear VR, will cost $99 and work with mobile devices, including Samsung’s lineup of phones from this year such as the newly released Note 5 and Galaxy S6. Meanwhile, Oculus Arcade takes care of the gaming aspect with virtual reality apps and exclusive content from Sega, Bandai/Namco, and more.
Rift will run on the Oculus Ready PC Program.
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The company on Thursday announced a third generation headset, which will be compatible with the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge Plus and the Note 5. Oculus has also announced its alliance with Netflix and Twitch that allow viewers to stream a 360-degree video while watching movies.
