Nov 05, 2024 | Updated: 11:35 AM EDT
Mar 30, 2017 02:13 AM EDT
Alongside with its new flagship smartphones - the Galaxy S8 and S8+, Samsung also unveils a new version of Gear 360 at the Samsung UNPACKED 2017 which was held in New York City, New York today. The name remains the same - Gear 360, without any version-indication attachment to it, but the new version has a lot to offer compare to the previous Gear 360.
In terms of design, the new Gear 360 does look pretty familiar, but it is now curvier and smaller. Most significantly, the Gear 360 is now capable of recording a true 4K video (4,096 x 2,048) than its predecessor which also allows 4K but only in 3,840 x 1,920 resolution. Apart from that, the sweet little camera also supports live streaming video to Facebook and YouTube. It also capable of the live stream to Samsung's own platform, but the live streaming is limited to full HD only instead of the maximum 4K.
The latest generation of Gear 360 works for most Samsung flagship smartphones which run on Android 5.0 or later, as well as iPhones that run iOS 10. Previously, the Gear 360 only worked on certain Samsung smartphones, but giving the fact that not all people would have chosen to upgrade their phones in an immediate manner, now the company has given the opportunity to those who would like to use the Gear 360 but own slightly older smartphones.
The new Samsung Gear 360 also supports Windows PCs and Apple MacBook. Apart from the upgraded resolutions, the Gear 360 features two 8.4 MP CMOS sensors with fish-eye lenses, ensuring that there are no gaps in coverage with 360 videos.
When it comes to the battery, the camera now has less capacity than last year's version - only 1,160mAh compare to 1,350mAh. For recharging, the newer USB Type C has been introduced which also helps for faster file transfers. There are no official price tags announced for the Gear 360, yet. The previous version of the model was tagged with $360, and there was a rumor said the new version will be slightly cheaper.
