Samsung Gear VR review

The new Gear VR headset 'will support old Samsung phones'

Previous news

01/08/2016:The next Gear VR headset will support older Samsung phones, as well as this year's Note 7.

This is according toNowhereelse.frandOnLeaks, who published a leaked photo, purportedly real, of Samsung's next VR device.

Rumour has it the new Gear VR will hit the shops in August, meaning it could well get a preview alongside the Note 7 at Samsung's Unpacked event on 2 August.

The new headset will support phones as old as the Galaxy S6, and its 96-degree range of vision will be extended to 100 degrees.

23/05/2016:Samsung is offering anyone who purchases the Galaxy S7 an opportunity to pick up an exclusive Gear VR content package.

This includes a collection of games such as Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes, Darknet, Drift, and Starchart, along with an unspecified discount on purchasing the Gear VR itself.

"The smartphone is already so fundamental to our lives," said David Lowes, chief marketing officer at Samsung Electronics Europe, "but connecting it with a product like the Gear VR opens up incredible new experiences that are often as emotional as they are immersive."

"With this new incentive, we're encouraging broader VR adoption so that more people can experience this amazing new technology for themselves."

The news follows the announcement of a first-party Google competitor to the Samsung Gear VR, known as Daydream.

Rather than a fully standalone headset with its own screen (as was rumoured), Daydream will be a housing allowing users to use any high-end Android handset for mobile VR, rather than just Samsung flagships.

Zach Marzouk

Zach Marzouk is a former ITPro, CloudPro, and ChannelPro staff writer, covering topics like security, privacy, worker rights, and startups, primarily in the Asia Pacific and the US regions. Zach joined ITPro in 2017 where he was introduced to the world of B2B technology as a junior staff writer, before he returned to Argentina in 2018, working in communications and as a copywriter. In 2021, he made his way back to ITPro as a staff writer during the pandemic, before joining the world of freelance in 2022.