The most accessible VR headset available, with the best balance between quality and price
Our first sort of experience with virtual reality (VR) dated back to the ill-fated Virtual Boy. Legendary Gameboy creator Gunpei Yokoi left Nintendo in 1996 in the wake of Virtual Boy’s commercial failure. That ended interest in VR in the 1990s, with many stung by it and not wanting to hear about it ever again. Exactly 20 years later, 2016 sees the rebirth of VR, rising from the ashes of the Virtual Boy.
Guess what, it is actually impressive now. Nintendo was too ahead of its time and now Oculus is here to champion VR. The Samsung Gear VR is one of the very few options in terms of a commercially available VR headset. Samsung saw the potential of VR, hence sewing up a deal with arguably the leader of VR, Oculus. It is also the reason why we saw Mark Zuckerberg at Samsung’s Mobile World Congress event.
The Gear VR is in competition with LG’s ‘Friends’. They are both add-ons to help sell more handsets, giving them a unique selling point to sway your decision. So the question needs to be asked, is VR the future? Should you buy a Samsung Galaxy S7 for it?
DESIGN
When we first got our hands on the Gear VR we weren’t really impressed with the build quality. It feels quite tacky for something that’s meant to be future technology. But what needs to be realised is this device is going to be strapped to your head for long periods at a time. We don’t exactly have neck muscles that are used to wearing gold chains big enough to anchor a ship, like Mr T or former Aston Villa striker John Carew.
Samsung gets it right in the comfort area with great cushioning on your face and a strap that doesn’t feel like it is going to shape your head into one of a Sesame Street character. It could use more padding though as it feels a bit hard on your face after a while, but that’s manageable and you won’t notice it after playing around on a piece of software you enjoy. Exterior light is blocked out brilliantly, adding to the feel of being in another place. For children Samsung does include a smaller head strap, or if you just have a little head.
The Gear VR weighs only 307g, which feels like the perfect weight, not too heavy. Attach an S7 and the weight jumps up to 462g, which is noticeable but still manageable. Moving your head around and looking at every angle with ease is the point of VR and Samsung gets this vital fundamental right.
VR is quite taxing on your device. The Galaxy S7 may have a bigger and better battery but it can’t shake off the succubus that is the Gear VR. Roughly the Gear VR drained 1% per minute, which varies depending on whether you are watching a video or playing a game. With so much power needed for the VR experience, our S7 heated up quite a bit, but don’t worry. It won’t burn your face off.
We recommend plugging in your device to an outlet while using it, or if you’re planning on using it on the go, carry a power bank. Don’t worry about the weird looks; you’ll be too immersed to care.
EXPERIENCE AND SOFTWARE
Oculus is arguably the leader in VR. With the Oculus chipset inside the Gear VR movement tracking is supremely accurate. Samsung devices with 2560 x 1440 AMOLED displays support the Gear VR, the list includes: Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, Note 5, S7 and S7 Edge. With the awesome AMOLED display you won’t be seeing any ghosting when turning your head at speed. We found blurring to occur around the edges when we weren’t focusing on a game or video.
After using the headset for 20-30 minutes our eyes started to hurt a little, prompting a little break. It is something that differs with each person, tolerance depends on whether you are used to looking at a screen up close for an extended period of time. It tired us out quite quickly.
Graphically the VR experience isn’t really that impressive. You have to bear in mind this is a headset that’s under £100. Games are stretched out on the screen, showing a lot of pixels. Textures that would look normal, probably comparable to a PlayStation 3 title, look tired and not optimised for the Gear VR. Given that, games are actually quite fun. We had a go with Gunjack, a futuristic first-person shooter with a 180-degree field of vision. It is great fun with the immersion making it a unique experience. You will get tired, as you have to keep your arm up on the touchpad to shoot. A dedicated controller should really be included; the Gear VR’s gamer base will be quite small without one. So far no game that solely uses the Gear VR impressed us enough to carry on playing. Games like Bait and invasion are comparable to empty boring Wii party games.
Gaming is not the sole focus on the Gear VR. There’s also 360 video and photos to consider. The verdict? It really isn’t up to scratch. Watching a gig from different angles is cool and all that but it isn’t really something we would think to do again. Good quality videos require a long download to enjoy them in full 360-degree. It all sounds a bit negative but we need to bear in mind VR is still in an infancy and once developers get used to the hardware, quality software will come through before we know it. You can view YouTube but it isn’t really optimised. A dedicated YouTube app is needed. If YouTube can provide that, endless original VR content would be at the ready for consumers. If not you can just create your own 360 VR content with the Gear 360 camera, which was also unveiled at Mobile World Congress.
Compared with the big boys of VR – Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR – the Gear VR falls short in terms of viewing angles. You can definitely tell the difference in quality with the Gear VR and the aforementioned. Then again, they are worth a few hundred pounds each.
CONCLUSION
The Gear VR is slap bang in the mid-range of the VR world. There are plenty below and above it. If you are really interested in VR and want to stay ahead of the tech curve, you can’t go wrong with the Gear VR. It works so much better than Google’s Cardboard but it also feels quite lacklustre in the actual experience. It is more for non-interactive experiences, perfect to show off at parties and family engagements. Whether you’ll still be using it months down the line remains to be seen. We are not entirely convinced but there is potential to build on.
VERDICT
If you’re upgrading your smartphone to the S7 and want to know what the hullabaloo is all about with VR then the Gear VR is good choice. It is a mid-range VR device hat will make parties and family engagements more interesting. VR is still in its infancy, so the content isn’t of a great quality yet. But that’s the case with all new hardware, particularly video games consoles.
Spec Sheet
Compatibility: Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, Note 5, S7 and S7 Edge
Weight: 307g
Dimensions: 202 x 116 x 93 mm
Field of view: 96 degrees
Controls: touchpad, back key, volume control, focus adjust wheel
Sensors: gyro, accelerometer, proximity
Ports: micro USB