Starting today, Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are available from all major wireless carriers, both of which will be compatible with the forthcoming second iteration of Samsung Gear VR.
Although the new Samsung Gear VR still doesn’t have a price or launch date yet, you can now get your hands on the smartphones that will drive the VR headset from a number of major wireless providers including, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile. For all but T-mobile, the Galaxy S6 starts at $199 while the Galaxy S6 Edge starts at $299 for 32GB versions of the devices.
- AT&T
- Samsung Galaxy S6 – $199 [still listed as pre-order]
- Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge – $299
- Verizon
- Sprint
Meanwhile, T-Mobile splits the cost of the phone up with their monthly plans, with the Galaxy S6 starting at $28/month and the Galaxy S6 Edge starting at $32/month.
See Also: Samsung Gear VR Heads to More than 100 Best Buys for Demo and Sale
If you’re due for a planned upgrade, you’ll be able to make good use of the phones’ 5.1 inch quad Super AMOLED screens and 64-bit Octa-core processors in the meantime before the second “Innovator Edition” Gear VR hits the market, but we’re not sure how the S6 Edge is going to stack up next to the standard S6 model simply based on the curved lip of the screen which may introduce optical artifacts.
Although not much of the experience will change from the first iteration of Gear VR, the ability to use these three VR-optimized smartphones (Note 4 included) across two headsets, that ultimately play in the same app store ecosystem, means increased incentive for game developers to target the nascent mobile VR industry. If everything goes right, it only means more games, experiences, and usership will come to the device as a result.