Samsung worked with Oculus to develop its first virtual reality headset, the Gear VR, but its next development could potentially pit the company against its partner. To use the Gear VR, it needs to be connected to a compatible Samsung smartphone. But the South Korean giant is working on a standalone VR headset that won't require it to be constantly connected to a smartphone.
At Samsung's developer conference, Injong Rhee, head of R&D, confirmed that the company was working on a standalone virtual reality headset, Variety reports. "We are working on wireless and dedicated VR devices, not necessarily working with our mobile phone," Rhee said.
This headset will also boast hand and gesture tracking, as well as positional tracking, a feature currently on offer on VR headsets like the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift. This feature lets users stand up and walk around as if in a virtual world.
Rhee wouldn't go into specifics, but did say that it could be a few years before we see this Samsung headset. There's also no word on if this headset will be truly wireless or be connected to a PC through cables in the way a Vive or Rift does.
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If Samsung does manage to create a wireless VR headset before the likes of HTC or Oculus, it will be a huge win for the South Korean company. But a standalone headset with positional tracking will pit it against the Rift, and it is unclear how this development will affect Samsung's partnership with Oculus.
Virtual reality is still at a fairly nascent stage and nearly every major company is dipping its toes in this space. Samsung is however confident about the potential, and Samsung's director of software development Andrew Dickerson was quoted as saying, "We think 2016 is shaping up to be the year of VR."
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Source: Samsung developing a standalone VR headset that won't need to be connected to a smartphone
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