Samsung at their Unpacked event today revealed the Gear 360 camera, a new consumer-focused device for shooting 360 video which can also be viewed in VR.

On stage at their Unpacked event in Barcelona, Samsung took the wraps off of the Gear 360 camera, a portable consumer-focused camera that captures 360 degree video.

The camera is a sphere with lenses on opposing sides, each shooting monoscopic 180 degree video with an f2.0 aperture. Each half is then stitched together and Samsung says the result is a 30MP 360 degree video. The camera connects to the user’s phone allowing for a live preview of what’s being captured.

samsung gear 360 camera unpacked

Samsung showed off footage from the device to hundreds of audience members at Unpacked, each wearing a Samsung Gear VR headset.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to the stage following the demonstration to talk about how the company has been making headway on 360 degree video streaming over their social network and said that Facebook 360 video would be coming to Gear VR in the “next few weeks.” Details were slim, but Samsung said users would be able to share their 360 videos to social seamlessly, and it looks like Facebook will be the prefered partner for doing so.

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Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."