Forget PlayStation VR, this is the perfect entry point for the tech
Virtual Reality is going to be the big growth area in 2016 as far as consumer tech is concerned, with Sony's PlayStation VR and HTC's Vive already generating an incredible amount of hype. However, the company largely responsible for the public's renewed interest in the concept is the Facebook-owned Oculus, whose Rift headset has undergone some revisions since being crowdfunded via Kickstarter in 2012. In addition to Rift, Oculus has also teamed up with Samsung to create a scaled-down version of its product dubbed Gear VR, and this could potentially be the device which really pushes the technology into the mainstream.
This stance might cause serious VR fans to scoff, but Oculus staffer John Carmack (yes, the same John Carmack who co-founded id Software, the studio behind Doom and Quake) feels that Gear VR - when twinned with experiences like the forthcoming port of Minecraft - could be VR's best bet at convincing mainstream consumers to put on a headset and abandon all sense of self-esteem. His point is that true VR needs to be totally wireless - something that Oculus Rift, PSVR and Vive currently don't offer - so that you can turn around and move about without worrying about tripping over cables you can't see. The trade-off with Gear VR is that you're not using a super-powerful computer to run the software, but a phone which you can fit in your pocket. Is the compromise one worth taking? Let's find out.
Samsung Gear VR Review: Design Hardware
When you take the Gear VR out of its packaging you'll probably be surprised at how light and compact it is - even with a phone inserted, it's not bulky or heavy in any way. The main headset has a semi-transparent front cover which pops off to reveal the dock for your Galaxy handset (support is currently limited to the Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy S6/S6 Edge and Galaxy S7/S7 Edge), while around the sides you'll find a focus adjuster, volume rocker and "back" button, as well as a Micro USB charging port. Two elasticated straps are used to secure the device to your head, and these fasten with velcro, making them easy to adjust to ensure you get a snug fit.
On the right-hand side of the unit there's a directional touch pad which is your primary input during use - although many apps allow you to make selections by moving a cursor with your head. The touchpad takes quite a bit of getting used to because there's no tactile feedback and it's a little too easy to swipe in the wrong direction and have a swipes mistaken for a tap. Thankfully, Bluetooth pad support is included as standard so you can connect a controller and use that to navigate if you find the touchpad too fiddly.
Audio is piped through your phone's weedy speaker so you'll want to connect a pair of headphones when using the device - there's a handy little cut-away portion on the device so
that the 3.5mm headphone socket is accessible at all times. The Micro USB port we mentioned earlier is used to charge the phone when it's connected - the Gear VR doesn't need its own power source as it basically uses your phone for this. Games which require both phone power and a USB connection are alluded to in the instruction manual, but there doesn't seem to be any examples available as yet.
Inside the Gear VR there's a custom inertial measurement unit - or IMU - for rotational tracking. This additional piece of kit makes the headset incredibly accurate when it comes to tracking your head movements, and this is one of the reasons why the Gear VR is vastly superior to efforts like Google Cardboard, which use the sensors already on your smartphone - these simply weren't designed for this kind of functionality.
Samsung Gear VR Review: Software
The Gear VR needs the Oculus app to function, so you'll need to install this before connecting your handset to the Gear VR. The app serves as a hub for all your Oculus content, and includes a store which requires you to enter your credit card details to purchase titles - you can't use your Google Play balance. Some apps are free, but the most enticing offerings need some investment on the player's part, and at the time of writing, prices are quite steep when compared to standard mobile games. Expect to play between £3.99 and £7.99 for the really high quality titles.
When you're wearing the Gear VR you're presented with an Xbox-style dashboard which shows your recent and purchased applications and downloads. You can also access a sub-menu where you can control elements like brightness and contrast, as well as switch on the phone's rear-facing camera to see the "real world" through that transparent front panel - handy if you want to get your bearings without removing the Gear VR itself.
Because your phone is part of the whole Gear VR package, notifications pop up during use. These can be disabled if you'd rather have an undisturbed experience, but the 3D effect used as these boxes briefly appear is pretty cool, and we didn't find them too obtrusive. In fact, because they appear on-screen it saves you from having to remove the headset to check your phone - something that will no doubt be an issue with other VR headsets which lack this functionality. Finally, it's worth noting that Oculus has included an Xbox Live-style "friends" system in its app, so you can keep track of what your mates are playing and get that all-important social element - a key feature when you consider that VR effectively cuts you off from your surroundings.
Samsung Gear VR Review: Gaming
While VR has a multitude of uses and applications, the current trend is very much focused on what it can bring to the gaming arena. On Gear VR, the majority of apps available are games, with some selling the concept better than others. EVE Gunjack is a good example; based in the same universe as the MMO EVE Online, it places you in a static gun turret with the task of repelling wave upon wave of enemy craft. To aim all you have to do is look around - and try not to get distracted by the incredible sense of depth and the gorgeous visuals. A controller isn't required to play, but we found it was much better with one, as reloading and firing can be controlled by the buttons. Gunjack is hardly the deepest game ever and at £8 is quite pricey, but it's the perfect advertisement for VR's potential - this is something that simply could not be replicated by traditional means.
Perhaps more striking is Land's End, a highly atmospheric puzzle title from UsTwo, the studio which created the insanely popular Monument Valley on iOS and Android. While the game is very much on-rails and limits player movement within the superbly-rendered environment, the sense of scale is remarkable; it's possible to look down cliffs and observe the waves splashing against rocks. Land's End is also a game which proves John Carmack's point about wires being a hindrance to immersion - at several points you're expected to turn around 180 degrees to look at elements behind you, and this would be tricky if the Gear VR wasn't a self-contained, cable-free unit.
Both of these examples are very much built around VR, but there are other offerings which attempt to take traditional gaming genres and give them an immersive spin. VR Karts is basically a Mario Kart clone and requires a Bluetooth pad to play. You control your vehicle as you might expect, with acceleration, braking and weapon deployment mapped to various buttons. However, you can look around to see drivers behind or alongside you, which adds more depth to the game than you might otherwise expect.
There's a clear divide between games which use a controller and those which revolve around aiming with head movements. The latter require you to tap the side of the Gear VR to register inputs and this becomes slightly bothersome over time; for this reason we'd highly recommend getting a Bluetooth pad if you're serious about gaming on the device. They're not expensive these days and there's a good chance you already have one lying about the house somewhere.
Samsung Gear VR Review: Experiences
Outside of gaming, you'll find a lot of other apps to download that make use of the Gear VR's immersive qualities but aren't games. For example, Oculus 360 Photos allows you to stand at the foot of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and gaze up to the sky. It's just a static image but the effect is still impressive. A VR version of Google's Street View has the same effect - while the imagery doesn't move, it still feels more like "being there" than viewing it on a flat screen.
Elsewhere, there are a whole host of apps which place you in exciting situations to make it feel like you're getting in on the action. You could be surfing off the Australian coast or scaling a snow-capped mountain - what you're seeing it obviously linear video footage captured by a 360 degree camera, but the effect is nevertheless impressive. It's just a shame that the video quality is quite poor when streaming, and given that your phone isn't likely to have bags of storage to spare, not many people are going to download the entire clip to watch it offline.
VR as a commercial tool is already being explored by some companies. We've got a Jurassic World companion app which is little more than a 360 video with 3D effects, where you're standing in a forest and become a point of interest for a massive CGI dinosaur. These projects are totally linear and remind us a lot of the terrible FMV "games" which appeared at the dawn of the CD-ROM revolution back in the early '90s; they're a way of getting around the fact that the Gear VR lacks the processing muscle of rival hardware, but aside from impressing your mates, they won't keep your attention for very long.
More impressive are the apps which aim to place you in a particular location that might not normally be accessible. Art galleries can be browsed virtually, and there's even a Netflix app which plants you in a posh living room with a gigantic TV screen. It's a daft idea - why watch Netflix on a virtual telly when you have a real one in your home already - but it hints at future applications for the tech. You could have front-row seats at a live sporting event, for example.
Samsung Gear VR Review: Conclusion
As with all VR in 2016, there's no doubt that Samsung and Oculus are finding their feet with this device. No one truly knows what direction VR is going to take over the next few years, yet Gear VR does an excellent job of selling the dream. Sure, the software isn't quite at the "killer app" level yet and there are some very throwaway apps available which lack longevity, but popping this headset on usually means losing an hour or two of your time; once you step into this immersive world, it's hard to come back out again. The fact that the headset lacks wires and cables is another big plus point when it comes to totally convincing the player they are detached from the real world.
Gear VR has its limitations, however. Because it's powered by a smartphone and not a powerful PC or console, there's a ceiling that developers are going to hit pretty rapidly when it comes to visuals. While we can expect some amazing graphics on PSVR thanks to the fact that one of the most powerful games consoles ever made is running the show, Gear VR is having to rely on weaker mobile tech. That means we could see the headset being left behind over the next 18 months as developers flock to more adept devices. Another drawback is that Gear VR doesn't ship with a controller as standard, and as a result many devs are ignoring physical inputs to focus entirely on head-tracking or the Gear VR's touchpad - and this once again limits the scope of what gaming experiences can be produced. The final shortcoming is that Gear VR needs a Samsung phone to operate - so if you're an iPhone owner or a fan of one of Samsung's many other Android rivals, then it's not going to be of any use to you.
Having said that, Samsung is one of the biggest producers of smartphones in the world and its S6 and S7 lines are incredibly popular, so in terms of potential audience the Gear VR has quite a large pool to dip into. And at less than £90, this is one of the most cost-effective ways
of getting into VR - by comparison, Sony's PSVR is £350, and that's considered cheap by the standards of its rivals. At worst it's "VR Lite", but at best it's an entry point into the technology that is arguably a lot more accessible to casual consumers than Sony, HTC or even Oculus' headsets - and it's first to market, too. In that respect, it could end up being one of the most important developments in the revival of VR yet - it has certainly created plenty of converts as we've been showing it around family and friends.
Both of these examples are very much built around VR, but there are other offerings which attempt to take traditional gaming genres and give them an immersive spin. VR Karts is basically a Mario Kart clone and requires a Bluetooth pad to play. You control your vehicle as you might expect, with acceleration, braking and weapon deployment mapped to various buttons. However, you can look around to see drivers behind or alongside you, which adds more depth to the game than you might otherwise expect.
There's a clear divide between games which use a controller and those which revolve around aiming with head movements. The latter require you to tap the side of the Gear VR to register inputs and this becomes slightly bothersome over time; for this reason we'd highly recommend getting a Bluetooth pad if you're serious about gaming on the device. They're not expensive these days and there's a good chance you already have one lying about the house somewhere.
VR as a commercial tool is already being explored by some companies. We've got a Jurassic World companion app which is little more than a 360 video with 3D effects, where you're standing in a forest and become a point of interest for a massive CGI dinosaur. These projects are totally linear and remind us a lot of the terrible FMV "games" which appeared at the dawn of the CD-ROM revolution back in the early '90s; they're a way of getting around the fact that the Gear VR lacks the processing muscle of rival hardware, but aside from impressing your mates, they won't keep your attention for very long.
More impressive are the apps which aim to place you in a particular location that might not normally be accessible. Art galleries can be browsed virtually, and there's even a Netflix app which plants you in a posh living room with a gigantic TV screen. It's a daft idea - why watch Netflix on a virtual telly when you have a real one in your home already - but it hints at future applications for the tech. You could have front-row seats at a live sporting event, for example.
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