Samsung Gear VR Now Officially Available in the US, Launches Internationally ‘Early 2015’

After over months of rumours and an official unveiling at IFA 2014 just 3 months ago, Samsung’s Note 4 based VR Headset Gear VR is now finally available to buy.

Gear VR Has Arrived

Samsung has officially announced that as of today, Monday 8th Dec 2014, their first VR Headset – Gear VR ‘Innovator Edition’ – will be available to buy. The device will initially be available via mobile carrier partner AT&T and through Samsung’s dedicated online retail channel Samsung.com. The price of the headset, as confirmed at SDC 2014, will be $199. That of course is without the mandatory Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phone which powers Gear VR. Samsung’s wireless bluetooth gamepad (pictured below) is also available as a bundled accessory, bringing the package price up to $249. As we covered recently, the new Samsung Note 4 mobile phone can now be obtained on contract via the following carriers:

• Verizon – Samsung Galaxy Note 4, 32GB
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• AT&T – Samsung Galaxy Note 4, 32GB
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• Sprint – Samsung Galaxy Note 4, 32GB
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The Gear VR is built exclusively around the powerful phablet, connecting to the headset via USB when clipped into place at the front of the VR Headset. The Gear VR itself includes Oculus engineered IMUs, capable of head-tracking with 3 degrees of freedom. Utilising the high resolution, low persistence 1440p OLED panel in the Note 4, visuals are displayed at 60Hz with a claimed motion-to-photon latency of under 20ms – a much higher resolution than Oculus’ latest developer kit DK”, which sports a 1080p OLED panel.

Samsung’s first foray into virtual reality, Gear VR was developed in conjunction with Oculus VR, with the project being lead by CTO John Carmack. Carmack recently spoke candidly about his year developing the device alongside Samsung at the first ‘Oculus Connect’ conference in September. In the talk, he shares details of some remarkable technical breakthroughs on a quest to squeeze compelling VR from a device powered by mobile technology.

From the official Samsung press release, it seems clear this ‘Innovator Edition’ is aimed squarely at developers and enthusiasts:

“With Gear VR Innovator Edition, Samsung is putting the device in the hands of creators to craft amazing experiences, as we define this new mobile category together,” said Justin Denison, vice president, Product Strategy and Marketing, Samsung Telecommunications America. “This is a great opportunity for the enthusiast community, developers and Samsung to get feedback and continue to innovate in this exciting new space.”

The below images are taken from an unboxing and review article which we’ll be publishing soon:

See Also: John Carmack’s Brilliant Oculus Connect Keynote Goes ‘off Message from the Standard PR Plan’

Software Available at Launch

All of the following apps are available to grab today, all of which are purchasable exclusively through the Oculus Home content portal:

• OOBE/Intro to VR Oculus – Felix and Paul
• Oculus Cinema – Oculus
• 360 Videos – Oculus
• 360 Photos – Oculus
• Herobound – Oculus
• Esper – Coatsink Software
• Bomb Squad – Eric Froemling
• Darknet – E McNeill
• Viral – Fierce Kaiju
• theBlu – Wemo Media, Inc.
• Anshar Wars – OZWE
• Proton Pulse – Zero Transform LLC
• Titans of Space – Drash VR LLC
• Romans From Mars – Sidekick LTD
• Dreadhalls – Sergio Hidalgo
• Ikarus – Uber Entertainment
• Minotaur Rescue VR – Llamasoft, LTD

Gear VR, Hardware and Specs

Much More Gear VR Coverage to Come

This is just the beginning of Road to VR’s Gear VR launch coverage. Stay tuned as we bombard you with unboxings, reviews and feedback from the Road to VR collective throughout the rest of the day.