Experiencing the Samsung Gear VR was, beyond a doubt, the coolest thing to happen to me in 2015 -- at least for a few hours...
The first Virtual Reality headset to be released specifically for general consumer purchase, the Gear VR is definitely an incredible piece of technology that provides an exciting glimpse into the potential of what Virtual Reality could do in the future. That energising sense of excitement quickly runs out though, as the experiences available for the device so far are rather limited. It is mainly for this reason that its definitely not a must-buy, at least now, but it's certainly a must-try for anyone who is interested in seeing what the future holds.
Design
The Samsung Gear VR developed in conjunction with Facebook-owned VR-tech company Oculus dispelled most of my doubts regarding the practicality of a general consumer-friendly virtual reality product in terms of weight and comfort. The headset, while unavoidably bulky, is surprisingly light and comfortable to wear. The adjustable Velcro straps located on the top and sides of the headset work to help alleviate much of the weight, though that isn't to say you won't feel it when you strap the device to your face. Generally though, you won't feel any significant discomfort when wearing it, even for long periods of time. That said, the product can run a little warm if you use it for too long, similar to a computer. It's not going to burn the skin off your face, but feel free to give it a rest if the heat becomes uncomfortable.
On the front of the device is a dock for your Galaxy S6 smartphone, which acts as the device's screen. You can adjust the focus level with a wheel located on the top of the headset. To control the device (as you obviously can't touch your phone's screen when its attached), users can swipe and tap on a small rectangular touchpad located on the device's right side, right next to the screen, or use the back and home buttons located next to the touchpad.
Samsung's Gear VR is definitely designed to be a consumer-friendly gadget first and foremost. The controls are intuitive and familiar, and the decision to integrate their smartphones into these devices means that users will generally pick up on using the device fairly quickly.
It also allows easy management of the many games or movies you download for the device as well, as the data is all stored in the Oculus android app which is required to use the device. You can download or delete data as you would a normal smartphone app, before docking the smartphone into the headset. That said, the decision to integrate the Galaxy S6 can also alienate a large portion of interested consumers who do not own a Galaxy S6 (Samsung was kind enough to provide us with one for the review). The inclusion of the S6 also works to exponentially increase the price of entry for the Gear VR itself, as the 6,500 baht price tag of the headset is augmented with the price of the smartphone, which currently sits anywhere from 18,000-25,000 baht.
The inclusion of a focus wheel also makes the device accessible for people with glasses (such as myself), as the device can't be worn on top of anything but the smallest glasses. It probably won't be able to get the picture perfectly clear if your eyesight is especially impaired (like mine), but it can at the very least make things discernible.
Function
This is where things become interesting.
Samsung Oculus
Communicating with your phone through the Oculus app, the Gear VR features a decent list of content readily available to you through the Oculus store, accessed through the app. There, you can download the games and experiences you would like to try out onto your smartphone or simply stream them off the store, though I am unsure whether Thailand's internet speed will actually allow us to properly make use of this function. I tested this using my office and home internet, and both times the app stuttered too much to actually be usable.
Also readily included with the app is a movie theatre function, which allows you to watch movies loaded onto your phone in various virtual-reality settings, from your usual movie theatres to the Moon. The image quality is definitely not HD (its truthfully quite noticeably pixelated), but that's a small price to pay for what I personally vote to be the best feature of the headset. They even included a convenient wedge on the front, so you could plug in a headset to your phone. I never new how much I wanted to watch movies while lying completely flat on my bed, but now that I've tried it, going back to watching movies the normal way seems almost tedious.
In terms of games, we only had the chance to try out the smaller, free offerings of the Oculus store. The Galaxy S6 review unit we received from Samsung had no data package or pre-loaded software, so we could only try out the experiences that did not require our credit-card information. Even so, we were positively wowed by what we saw. While the sub-HD graphics and smartphone-level processing power won't make the Gear VR a contender for dedicated gaming machines like the PS4 or Xbox One, being able to physically turn around to observe your surroundings in a game is an experience that, again, simply has to be tried to be properly understood.
Verdict
When all is said and done, however, the Samsung Gear VR is still very much a proof-of-concept as opposed to an actual tech gadget with real, practical uses. The experiences, while quite unlike anything I've experienced before, are still rather limited and are more akin to other apps you'll find on smartphones already.
As such, it can be difficult to justify forking over more than 6,000 baht for the headset (and that's assuming you already own a Galaxy S6). This isn't in anyway a reflection of the product's quality; the Gear VR deserves significant recognition for being the first consumer-oriented VR product to hit the market and it works very much like a dream. It just so happens that, in this early stage, the experiences provided by the headset don't quite justify the hefty price tag that comes with it.
The device is currently sold exclusively at the Samsung Experience Store at Siam Square One. While we can't wholeheartedly recommend a purchase, we do recommend you at least drop by for a spin.
Interface: 5.1-inch Super-AMOLED screen (Galaxy S6) with 96-degree field of view, touchpad, focus wheel, "back" button
Weight: 420.4g (without Galaxy S6)
Battery Life: 2-3 hours at full charge, depending on use (uses power from Galaxy S6; no extra batteries or charging required)
Connectivity: MicroUSB docking slot for Galaxy S6 (peripheral devices such as headphones, game controllers, etc. are connected to Galaxy S6 via Bluetooth and other means), accelerator, gyrometer, proximity sensor (mount/unmount Detection)
Price: 6,500 baht
