Dec 22, 2024 | Updated: 11:35 AM EDT

Samsung Gear VR With Oculus Gesture Controller Launched At MWC 2017; Price, Specs, Availability

Feb 28, 2017 09:48 AM EST

Along with the Galaxy Tab S3, Samsung has also unveiled a new Gear VR at Mobile World Congress that should excite VR fans. The new Samsung Gear VR is officially called as the Gear VR with Controller, as, it comes with a controller.

The new Samsung Gear VR with Controller sports 42mm lenses with a 101-degree field of view (FOV) and "advanced distortion correction technology to minimize motion sickness." Just like the previous generation model, it also lets you swap between microUSB and USB Type-C that depends on your phone's port. As a new characteristic, as it has a controller, Samsung added in a special strap to hold the controller when not in use, according to Droid Life.

For the controller, you get a device with back, home, volume, trigger, and touchpad buttons. It's powered by two AAA batteries, which will get you up to 2 hours of daily use for 40 days. The controller gives the user ability to point and drag and drop and tilt and shoot, and all of that other fun stuff you wanted in VR, but couldn't because you had to use a touchpad on the side of your headset. It should make the Gear VR directly a must-have for VR fans who own a Galaxy device, but also for those looking to get into VR for the first time.

Samsung's Gear VR has been the premiere mobile virtual reality headset ever since the developer's edition was released in December of 2014. This version and the previous consumer's version received mixed reviews. Many people have also complained about the lenses fogging up easily, the unit getting hot, the relatively low field of view, and the fact that there weren't many immersive software titles available.

The most recent Gear VR fixed many of these issues. The latest headset, which was released last August, received great reviews. PC Magazine has given the 2016 Gear VR four stars.

The new Samsung Gear VR works with the Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, Galaxy Note 5, S6 edge+, S6 and S6 Edge smartphones. In addition to the new Gear VR controller, Samsung also revealed the release date of the Galaxy S8 smartphone and unveiled a pair of new tablets at MWC 2017.

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