Wispy rumours that Oculus VR were working on something with Samsung have coalesced today into an ethereal pair of magic goggles. The new headset will apparently be called the Gear VR, and is expected to be announced alongside the Galaxy Note 4 at a Berlin consumer electronics show in September.
Users will slot a Galaxy smartphone into a USB 3.0 gap on the Gear VR’s right side, according to a report by a Mr Sam Mobile. The Gear will then use the phone’s accelerometer, gyroscope and processing capabilities to track head motion.
Other space-age features reportedly include a transparent button which uses the inserted phone’s rear-facing camera to provide users with a feed of what’s going on IRL, as well as a nearby touchpad, used to navigate through the Galaxy’s UI in the usual fashion.
Soft, padded cushions on each side of the Gear and an elasticated head band ensure that the headset is – dare we say it – more comfortable to wear than the current Oculus Rift dev kit.
We’re told that Samsung will make a whole new section of its store available to VR apps, and will push the Gear’s SDK out to developers soon after the announcement at IFA 2014 in September.
It’s clear that Oculus’ Facebook acquisition has changed perceptions about the VR company in corp-land. That’s going to be a good thing. But how do you feel about Oculus’ business moving far beyond the boundaries of PC games?
Thanks, VentureBeat.