Samsung is hesitant over whether to pursue a standalone VR headset, its president and chief strategy officer Young Sohn has revealed.
Despite the company actively pursuing VR in both forms, Sohn has said that the decision to send a standalone, all-in-one model to market is dependent on a few factors – the major one being VRs success over the next few years.
Sohn believes that VR is reaching a peak in its hype cycle. But despite this he argues the market is yet to prove itself, and until it does, Samsung will hold fire on a VR headset. Previously, Sohn has suggested he doesn’t know whether VR is hype or mainstream.
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He also highlighted several issues that he feels need ironing out in Samsung’s current handsets before the company releases a new VR headset. These include latency needs, display tech as well as battery efficiency. However, he did admit that VR technology would be a driving incentive for Samsung’s other products. These include next-gen displays, as well as possible forays into the medical world.
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Adequate displays are something of a flashpoint in the VR debate. Sohn believes that next-gen VR will need displays with pixel densities of “at least two times” what they are now. What’s more, he suggested that building a 10K display suitable for standalone VR would involve investing $5 billion to $10 billion.
Despite these worries, Samsung still leads the way in mobile VR, with over a million Samsung Galaxy and Note owners using the Gear VR headset. The company is also one of Google Daydream’s first partners, and has an ongoing partnership with Oculus Rift.
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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.