Samsung is reportedly working on a stand-alone virtual reality headset.
The Korean tech giant got into the VR game relatively quickly with its Samsung Gear VR, but the device doesn’t have the power or sophistication of the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift.
Indeed, it’s closer to Google Cardboard in execution, relying on a high-end Samsung smartphone for power and the display.
But Samsung’s VR ambitions don’t end there. The company has just announced at its developer conference (via Variety) that it is working on a dedicated VR headset. This will incorporate the same kind of position tracking features as the aforementioned HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
“We are working on wireless and dedicated VR devices, not necessarily working with our mobile phone,” said the company’s head of R&D for software and services, Injong Rhee.
Hand and gesture tracking is also said to be under consideration, which would be a step above what’s on offer elsewhere. Both the Vive and the Rift require special controllers for tracking hand movement.
These latter features could take a couple of years to come to fruition, however. “VR is amazing, but the industry is still at its infancy,” said Rhee.
For now, Samsung will concentrate on its Gear VR headset, and will release its Gear 360 camera this week in order to enable content creation for that device.
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Meanwhile, a freshly announced VR Upload SDK will make it easier to upload content to Samsung’s Milk VR service.
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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.