samsung galaxy note 4 update gear vr release date

At Samsung’s 2014 Developer Conference, it was finally announced that the Gear VR ‘Innovator Edition’ headset, powered by Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 mobile phone, would be released in early December. The Note 4’s latest software update (v4.4.4) indicates Samsung is on track to deliver and reveals what might be in store for early adopters.

After a long wait for confirmation of Samsung‘s first foray into the virtual reality sphere, Gear VR was officially announced to the world at IFA 2014 in September. However, the company didn’t reveal specific release date, only being as specific as “this year.” Then, at SDC 2014, it was finally confirmed that the mobile VR headset, developed in conjunction with Oculus, would reach stores in the US in “early December.” Soon after, Oculus announced the availability of their mobile SDK, allowing developers not privy to previous private builds access to start creating games for the mobile VR platform.

See Also: Oculus Launches Mobile SDK for Android Development on Gear VR

Now it seems Samsung are preparing for that launch window as Note 4 owners in the US are reporting that the latest software update for their phone brings with it the ability to side load and run .apk’s (Android‘s native application format) taken from Oculus’ mobile SDK. What’s more, Reddit user riftmuckel  and UniversalChairs found that, after running the Oculus 360 Video application with the latest update a Gear VR software download reveals several titles that are likely to be part of the system’s launch offering.

Apps still cannot be started as yet, as they require the Note 4 to be attached to a functional Gear VR unit, but the above screenshots (uploaded by another Redditor UniversalChairs) seem to confirm titles such as Titans of Space, Darknet and Proton Pulse may be ready to go once the headset is available. Alongside that, previously confirmed Oculus Gear VR companion apps Gear VR Video, VR Gallery and Oculus Home all seem to receive updates as part of this process.

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Still no official word on precisely when the Gear VR hardware will land in stores unfortunately, although you can buy the required Samsung Galaxy Note 4 handset right now. How the recently highlighted CPU differences might affect Gear VR performance initially is also unknown.

We’ll let you know as we uncover more details on Gear VR’s impending launch.

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Paul James
Based in the UK, Paul has been immersed in interactive entertainment for the best part of 27 years and has followed advances in gaming with a passionate fervour. His obsession with graphical fidelity over the years has had him branded a ‘graphics whore’ (which he views as the highest compliment) more than once and he holds a particular candle for the dream of the ultimate immersive gaming experience. Having followed and been disappointed by the original VR explosion of the 90s, he then founded RiftVR.com to follow the new and exciting prospect of the rebirth of VR in products like the Oculus Rift. Paul joined forces with Ben to help build the new Road to VR in preparation for what he sees as VR’s coming of age over the next few years.
  • Don Gateley

    The most important thing about this is their curated VR app store which needs to be pretty much idiot proof. Now, if that same store model is provided for the mythical consumer Rift and is just as idiot proof it will nicely drive sales and usage.

  • Hopsonator

    Already have the note 4! I love my dk2 and I’m sure the lack of positional tracking with be a hindrance with gear vr but at least it’s a mobile solution and will make it easier to show off the tech to newcomers. :)

  • rainabba

    I spoke with John Carmack for quite some time at Connect and he made it very clear that inside-out tracking is their goal and the camera on the Note 4 was mentioned more than a few times. Mentions of low-power camera modes optimized for tracking were also mentioned so they are definitely looking at possible solutions.

    That said, I wouldn’t rule out positional tracking for Gear VR entirely; it just won’t be there immediately, from Oculus/Samsung. I also have faith that someone will manage to provide at least the most fundamental positional tracking before official support is announced (since that won’t happen until it’s working very reliably).