Samsung has revealed the inspiration behind the design of its Gear 360-degree camera – an astronaut’s helmet.
The Samsung Gear 360 was announced at this year’s MWC alongside the Samsung Galaxy S7. This surprisingly dinky peripheral is a cute little spherical camera that will snap 360-degree photos and videos, providing an easy platform on which to share them with others.
Its design is strikingly different to pre-existing 360-degree cameras, which tend to be bar shaped.
Now Samsung has posted a Q and A session with the Gear 360’s design team to explain some of the inspiration behind it.
Regarding the Gear 360’s iconic design, Senior Designer Kyunghan Noh revealed that “It was inspired by the helmets astronauts wear in space.” It was the fact that such helmets are “sleek, seamless and minimal, but also feature very sturdy inner structures” that drew the team to this approach.
The whole 360-degree, spherical nature of such helmets also led to the design direction.
Related: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge review
It’s also revealed in the interview that the original intention was for the Gear 360 to be without a display, and to rely on a paired smartphone instead.
“However, we later realised that to do so might not result in a truly intuitive design,” said Noh. Because of its unusual design, many early users were unsure of how they should be holding the device.
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What do you think of the Gear 360’s quirky design? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
