Announced at Samsung’s Unpacked event earlier this year was a new version of the Gear 360, the company’s 360 camera. The event, which saw official announcement of the Galaxy S8/S8 plus and pricing info of the new Gear VR headset, revealed that the new Gear 360 is capable of capturing 360 video in 4K (4096 x 2160) at 24 fps, and livestreaming 2K to Facebook and YouTube. The camera is now due to launch in the US tomorrow (Thursday, May 25th) with an attractive new price of $229.

Update (5/24/17, 9:57AM PT): Since the original announcement of the new Gear 360 (also known as the 2017 Gear 360 or the Gear 360 2), Samsung has now revealed launch info for the camera in the US.

The device will hit store shelves Thursday, May 25th, priced at $229, which is $121 less than the original version launched in 2016. Samsung says the camera will be available for purchase in-store and online from Amazon, AT&T, Best Buy, T-Mobile, Verizon, US Cellular, and Samsung.

Also starting on May 25th, and running until June 19th, new purchases of the Galaxy S8 or S8+ smartphone can purchase the new Gear 360 for just $49.

Original Article (3/29/17): Now fitting in a bulbous hand-held form-factor, the 2017 Gear 360 is upping the resolution and spreading support to more devices including the iPhone 7, a first for the little 360 camera. Last year’s model shot at a max resolution of 3840 x 1920 at 30 fps, didn’t include livestreaming, and only connected to a a number of select Samsung handsets.

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Samsung hasn’t released pricing and availability yet, but the company maintains shipping will start sometime in April or May and cost less than last year’s model at $350.

Gear 360 Specs (2017)

  • CMOS 8.4MP x2 / F2.2 lens (Default output pixel count equivalent to 15MP) Dual Lens Mode, Single Lens Mode (Front/Rear) Video, Photo, Time lapse, Video looping, Landscape HDR EV, Sharpness, White Balance, HDR, Wind Cut, ISO Limit (up to 1600) Horizontal Correction, Geo Tagging (via Smartphone)
  • Still Capturing (Max Resolution) 360˚ Dual Lens: up to 15MP (5472 x 2736) Single Lens: up to 3MP (2304 x 1296) Format: JPEG
  • Video Recording (Max Resolution) 360˚ Dual Lens: up to 4096 x 2048 (24fps) Single Lens: up to 1920 x 1080 (60fps) Codec: MP4 (H.265)
  • Recording time: Up to 130 mins (2560 x 1280 / 30fps)
  • Battery: 1,160mAh
  • Sensor: Gyro and Accelerometer
  • Smartphone compatibility: Galaxy S8, S8+, S7, S7 Edge, Note5, S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, A5/A7 (2017) running Android 5.0 or later. iPhone 7, 7+, 6S, 6S+, SE running iOS 10.0 or later.
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth v4.1, USB 2.0 (Type-C)
  • Water & Dust proof: IP53 (Dust and Splash-proof)

Like its predecessor, video is managed through the Samsung Gear 360 app, allowing the camera to change views and apply multiple modes on the fly. Samsung says that the app will also allow you to convert 360 content into a standard video or photo format.

Live-stream capture is sent wirelessly to PC or any one of the supported smartphones first, and then uploaded to either YouTube or Facebook as live broadcasts. It’s uncertain if Gear VR headsets will have access to these live-streams.

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gear 360 2017 illustration

Everyone in attendance at Unpacked received a free Gear 360. Last year’s ‘gift’ was a Gear VR headset.

While you wait for pre-orders, check out this hands-on demo from Samsung’s own Newsroom in the meantime.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Robert Robert

    Pass. Don’t even make a new 360 camera if you can’t do at least 4K 60fps

    • PrymeFactor

      This is going to cost less than $300. You’re nuts if you expected it to boast professional quality specs at that price.

  • Tech specs are worse than the previous model… images are 15MP now (old one had 30MP)

  • Pass. Use a Samsung app again for stiching … no thanks

    • Alan Smithson

      You can use any app to stitch, but the Gear 360 app works great.

  • tHE_uKER

    You forgot to mention that it’s only compatible with a bunch of Samsung phones and a bunch of iPhones.

    • PrymeFactor

      It’ll be compatible with iphones and most modern Android phones.

      • Anshel Sag

        No, just Samsung.

        • Daniel Gochez

          “Smartphone compatibility: Galaxy S8, S8+, S7, S7 Edge, Note5, S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, A5/A7 (2017) running Android 5.0 or later. iPhone 7, 7+, 6S, 6S+, SE running iOS 10.0 or later.”

  • Peter Morris

    I wonder if it would be possible to replace the cameras with infrared ones?

  • Jim Watters

    Resolution of 360° video does not add up. Single lens video at 1920 x 1080. This has to be mostly a circular fisheye image to cover the entire sphere meaning not all those pixels are being used and also covering more than 180° to get overlap.
    With the 16:9 aspect ratio, I had to make the lenses 240°, one horizontal and one vertical to get enough overlap to cover the entire sphere. This only give a 2750 x 1375 panorama or 3.8 Mpix, Less than half the 8Mpix they claim.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/980022d9e61b20e38bde9cb1a42a0a3c7f3a567cf56050ce17edbaa73146cce5.jpg

    • Daniel Gochez

      The specs sure are confusing. Specially since it has lower res for stills but higher resolution for video than its predecessor. (Which I use often to capture panoramic skies) As for the stated 1920 x 1080 video listed, it is for 60fps, so I’m guessing there might be another rez at lower fps that is higher.

  • mbze430

    I wonder if this camera can be used with Samsung’s Smart Things or IFTTT and other IoTs

  • Lucidfeuer

    This is the pile of shit that wasn’t supposed to just be a 360° camera, but the actual GearVR tracker: https://uploadvr.com/samsung-korean-patent-shows-new-gear-vr-positional-face-eye-tracking/

    Now there would have been incentive for both this camera, the GearVr and more for the S8. But nah, Samsung is not doing business anymore, they’re just an empty shell to mask over-speculation (Apple being no different).

  • Bob Nichols

    The link in the article to the summer promotion “Also starting on May 25th, and running until June 19th, new purchases of the Galaxy S8 or S8+ smartphone can purchase the new Gear 360 for just $49 http://samsungpromotions.com/360summer/“, is not correct, the correct web address is https://promos.samsung.com/360summer

  • Mr. New Vegas

    I got similar LG 360 cam (and extended phone battery) for free with my LG G5, I kept the battery, sold the Camera to make my phone bill cheaper.