Samsung Gear VR Available For Preorder At $99

Oculus announced the preorder availability of the new version of its jointly-designed Samsung Gear VR, for a price of $99. The lightweight headset is an entry-level portable virtual reality solution designed for use with smartphones, specifically the 2015 lineup of Samsung Galaxy devices.

Samsung's new Gear VR is one choice among a plethora of competing mobile VR devices, such as Noon VR (and to a lesser extent, Google Cardboard) in the emerging smartphone-turned-virtual reality device market. However, the new Gear VR is one of the only devices that works solely with the company's own smartphones.

The new Samsung Gear VR appears to have a much sleeker design than previous models, with a smooth enclosure that Samsung claims is 19 percent lighter than the previous Innovator model, weighing only 1.5 pounds. The headset also features compatibility for the latest Samsung smartphones, including the Galaxy Note5 and Galaxy S6 models (S6, edge, edge+).

In addition, several made-for-VR games were released for Gear VR, including Land's End, Bandit Six: Salvo, and Dead Secret. The Oculus Arcade also made its debut, offering over 20 classic games like Pac-Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Gauntlet in a virtual arcade. Samsung claimed that more games, such as Gunjack and Anshar Wars 2, are coming soon.

You can preorder the new Oculus-powered Samsung Gear VR from BestBuy, Amazon, and Samsung for just $99. The goggles will ship on November 20, just in time for the holidays.

Derek Forrest is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. PC gaming, graphics hardware and VR devices are among his favorite topics to cover. He is a lifelong PC enthusiast, former IT administrator and a custom PC builder with a penchant for creating music, voice acting and all things geek.

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Derek Forrest
Derek Forrest is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He writes hardware news and reviews gaming desktops and laptops.
  • SteveRNG
    "Oculus Arcade! The most sophisticated virtual 3D 2D gaming from 30 years ago! Next up: Oculus virtual computer screen. A 3D representation of a monitor, where you can now play non-VR games JUST like you were sitting in front of a monitor, yourself".
    Reply
  • wkwilley2
    This would be fantastic if there was actually some VR media to go with it.
    Reply
  • JacFlasche
    I personally can't wait for a good HD VR HUD with an extended FOV . Being able to see were I look out the windshield in my racing sims would be reason enough for me to buy, and they can already do that.
    Reply
  • bloodroses75
    Pass. Made by Samsung. A company I wont support since they prematurely dropped support of their first Note Edge after less than 3 months; leaving us owners out in the cold. Hopefully some other company makes their own VR device.
    Reply
  • virtualban
    Next need is a VR UI overlay for a solid operating system core.
    Reply