Samsung is winning the race to get its Gear VR onto heads everywhere after sales figures revealed that its cheap VR headset has outsold the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR combined.
Consumers have voted with their wallets after new data published by SuperData showed that Samsung shipped 4.51 million of the Gear VR headset – which comes in at £99 – and was also given away free-of-charge in a promotion run alongside the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge smartphones.
“The low barrier to entry for mobile gave Samsung an edge over its other high-end competitors before the Google Daydream View came out,” SuperData’s report read, as spotted here.
The Sony PlayStation VR got closest to the Gear VR by shifting 750,000 units, HTC Vive (420,000) and Oculus Rift (250,000) rounding out the top four in a market that saw 6.3 million units shipped in 2016.
All three of the Gear VR’s competitors come in at a higher price point. By way of comparison, the HTC Vive is the priciest at £759, followed by the Oculus Rift at £499 and the only one that comes close(-ish) to Samsung’s offering is the PlayStation VR at £349.99.
Users have been able to get their hands on the Gear VR for well over a year after Samsung first released the headset in late-2015. To use it, you’ll need one of Samsung’s newest smartphones – any of the following will do:
- Samsung Galaxy S7
- Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
- Samsung Galaxy Note 5
- Samsung Galaxy S6
- Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
- Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+
Samsung updated the headset in late 2016, adding USB Type-C connectivity but keeping backwards compatibility with a Micro USB adapter. It also got a lick of dark blue-black paint, and a 101-degree field of view that was an upgrade from the 96-degrees offered on the first version.
The South Korean-based tech giant is getting itself ready for the release of the next flagship smartphone to join the Galaxy line-up. For the first time in a few years, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Edge won’t be at MWC 2017 but it’s unlikely to be much longer until we see the Android-powered flagship twins.
Related: Best VR Headsets
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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.
Professional conduct
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.
