Yahoo Finance Samsung says it's working on its own virtual reality headset
Company planning headset that doesn't require a smartphone
Samsung might have one of the most accessible virtual reality headsets on the market with its Gear VR, even if it does need a Samsung smartphone to work. But the headset doesn’t come close to more robust headsets like the PC-powered Facebook’s Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, or Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 4-powered PlayStation VR.
But it looks like the company is looking to take on those headsets with a high-end system of its own.
According to Variety, Samsung’s head of research and development for software and services Injong Rhee announced that the company is, “working on wireless and dedicated VR devices, not necessarily working with our mobile phone.”
Rhee said the company is also developing hand and gesture tracking, both of which the Gear VR lacks.
From the sound of it, Samsung is working on two different headsets, one that’s wireless and one with a separate, dedicated setup.
Regardless, the fact that the company is developing any virtual reality headsets that don’t require Samsung smartphones is big news. It also means that the headsets will likely be more expensive than the $100 Gear VR, as they will need to include their own displays and processors rather than rely on users’ smartphones as screens and for computing power.
One of the benefits of the Gear VR is that because it's powered by your smartphone, it doesn't require you to wear a long wire that tethers you to your PC. Instead, you can move around completely unhindered. Hopefully Samsung will figure out a way to make its headsets both wireless and dedicated.
As Variety correctly points out, the fact that Samsung is building dedicated VR headsets means that it will be competing directly with Facebook’s Oculus and its Rift headset. That sounds like it could get messy as Oculus provides the software that powers Samsung’s Gear VR.
That said, while Oculus is keen on selling the Rift headset, founder Palmer Luckey told Yahoo during an interview at CES 2016 that he sees Oculus as more of a virtual reality platform, similar to how Google’s Android operating system for smartphones and tablets.
via: Variety
Email Daniel at dhowley@yahoo-inc.com; follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
