By Lynn Palec, | May 05, 2016
Samsung Gear VR
South Korean tech giant Samsung is reportedly working on a new standalone virtual reality headset that, unlike its current product, will not require a smartphone to work. Reports claim that the new Samsung virtual reality headset will integrate advanced features like positional tracking.
In a statement acquired by Variety, Samsung head of research and development for software and services Injong Rhee said, "We are working on wireless and dedicated VR devices, not necessarily working with our mobile phone. VR is amazing, but the industry is still at its infancy."
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Rhee said that the next Samsung virtual reality headset will include support for hand gestures, and added that it might take a few more years before this vision is turned into a reality.
The plan to develop a premium virtual reality headset was unveiled at the Samsung Developer Conference held last week in San Francisco.
Samsung released the Gear VR virtual reality headset in the fall of 2015. The headset costs $100 and serves as a consumer version of the virtual reality headsets built by Oculus. Unlike the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, both of which are standalone virtual reality headsets, the Samsung Gear VR requires a high-end smartphone in order to project a virtual reality image. According to EWeek, supported smartphone models are the Samsung S6, S6 Edge, Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, and Galaxy S6 Edge+.
Both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift do not require a smartphone in order to operate. However, they are very expensive and requires a high-end PC in order to properly function.
Aside from HTC and Oculus, Sony is also prepping its own virtual reality device which is slated to be released later this year. The PlayStation VR costs $399 and will bring virtual reality into the company's flagship PlayStation consoles.
Tech giant Google had also expressed its intention to enter the virtual reality platform. Google already have its own virtual reality device called the Google Cardboard, which functions almost the same as the Samsung Gear VR.
Google is planning to develop its own standalone virtual reality headset. Not much is known about this specific Google project, although there are rumors claiming that the company plans to release it before the end of the year.
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