Samsung's new and improved $99 Gear VR ships this November
When Samsung released its revised mobile virtual reality headset, the Gear VR, earlier this year, it did so with the label "Innovator Edition" still attached since the hardware wasn't quite consumer-ready. Today, at the Oculus Connect 2 developer conference in Los Angeles, Samsung's VP of Mobile, Peter Koo announced a new Gear VR priced affordably at $99 and ready to ship in the United States in time for Black Friday this November and worldwide shortly after.
To prove its shared commitment with Oculus to making virtual reality a truly mass-market product, the new Gear VR will work with all of Samsung's 2015 flagship phones. That means if you've recently upgraded to a Samsung Note 5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge or Galaxy S6 Edge +, you now have a compatible device.
The hardware's now been made 22 percent lighter, which Koo said makes it more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. And the side touchpad has also gotten a revised design, though Koo didn't elaborate much on its changes.
We'll have a chance to demo the new Gear VR later today, so stay tuned for impressions. For now, though, you can look forward to joining the company's push into mobile VR this November.
