Samsung releases beta browser for Gear VR, still only a hint of what's to come

Samsung announced a web browser for the Gear VR this week, formally marking its inauguration as a bonafide smart device. The app itself, currently in beta, is dubbed “Samsung Internet for Gear VR”, and it seems to be designed to allow users to watch video online without the need for a dedicated app. According to Samsung, the app "supports both 360-degree and 3D video streaming, as well as any HTML5 video from the web.” One can infer that this means the browser will be able to take advantage of YouTube’s 360-degree offerings. The app will support an on-screen keybaord as well as voice recognition for text input. The browser also supports “gaze” interactions, which trigger when a user looks at a tab to select it rather than pressing the button on the side of the device. Bookmarks can be imported from the browser on users’ phones.

From televisions to e-readers to watches, it seems that no technology is truly smart until it has an Internet browser in some capacity. This browser does have a legitimate claim of purpose however; not every video streaming website will immediately develop apps for use on the Gear, so it makes sense to have a browser that can access sites like YouTube, Vimeo, and WorldStarHipHop in the interim.

The Gear VR has been slowly gaining features over the past year, making it increasingly hard to ignore. We’re beginning to see more movie and game announcements as hype continues to grow for the Gear. I was able to briefly try a demo of the device at Engadget Live in Brooklyn last month, where I watched a short film from a startup called EEVO, and played a game from Cerevrum. The short film, though lacking in substance and narrative, impressed me just based on the “wow”-factor of being able to look around inside a movie. At the Cerevrum booth I played an alien invaders-themed puzzle game that was a bit difficult to learn, but fun once I got the hang of it. As important as the device will be to introducing mainstream consumers to virtual reality at a reasonable price, I feel as though it is merely a precursor to the main event. Of course, I’m talking about the Oculus Rift.

The Gear’s most compelling aspect is its low price and compatibility with Samsung phones, which are a near second to iPhones in terms of marketshare. However, sticking a phone in the enlarged viewfinder can only go so far in immersing the user. The low-res visuals bar the experience from feeling like virtual reality, and it ends up feeling more like a virtual space. Additionally, although Gear handles gyroscopic rotations well, it falters with other kinds of movements, which will be essential when the video game scene develops.

The value proposition for the Rift will rely on the improvements in the experience over the Gear. We as consumers should expect high-resolution graphics, and improved handling of movement in 3D space. The Gear VR is merely a hint of the potential offered by virtual reality as a next generation entertainment platform.

Samsung and Oculus announce media streaming capabilities of Gear VR

Samsung announced the Gear VR, a new $99 version of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, at Oculus Connect on Thursday. The headset will be available to consumers who own one of Samsung’s flagship phones in November, and at $99, it’s the cheapest version of the headset we’ve seen so far. This is because the Gear VR is designed as an accessory for one’s phone, with a slot that holds it up to the user’s face, rather than a device with its own screen. While that does mean it won’t have as much power to run graphically-intense games, it will also be a far more accessible version of the device than past iterations, opening it up to a much wider market of consumers.

Aesthetically, the Gear VR doesn’t stray far from the looks of previous versions of the Rift. Samsung has added some design-conscious hardware tweaks however, such as depressions for d-pad buttons on the side and a raised bump in the middle for a button. They’ve also replaced the foam pads that sit between a user’s face and the device with softer fabric, and made the head strap lighter.

Oculus also announced some new media partnerships at their Connect conference that extend the usage scope of the device beyond gaming. Netflix, Hulu, Twitch, and more streaming services are available on the Gear VR platform right now, and will be accessible to everyone upon the release of the headset. While Hulu has gone above and beyond to tailor their app to the platform, with promised "original virtual reality short-form" content and "unique viewing environments created for VR devices,” (which will support 2D and 3D programming), Netflix’s offering is a much less robust viewing environment that will have users in a room alongside their friends, watching a virtual TV. It’s still cool, just not as cool.

Oculus' new media partnerships are a clear gambit from the company to be the next go-to destination for average consumers' media streaming needs, as well as gaming. Imagine being able to pop on a VR headset to use with your phone at any time or location, like during your lunch break, while using public transit systems, or in bed. The design of the headset should allow for an immersive experience while gaming or watching TV, independent of the user's external conditions, making it the ideal viewing condition for media streaming far more often than not.

Though the Gear VR has a lot going for it in terms of accessibility and affordability, there are a few caveats that prevent it from being the virtual reality experience of our dreams. It lacks positional tracking, meaning users must remain seated (or standing still, presumably) for the duration of their usage time with the device. Of course, it would be a completely different problem to have people walking around blindly while they use the device, but positional tracking would certainly go a long way in adding to the immersion, if only so people could tilt their head back and not break the Netflix app.

Though the lack of positional tracking is a hindrance for total immersion, we do have to remember that this is Oculus' first attempt at consumer-facing hardware, and it will see improvements over time. This holiday season will mark the first serious effort by Oculus to make a splash in the gaming and entertainment industries, which is why it's good that they have Samsung's marketing and Facebook's capital on their side.