Since the Samsung Gear VR has hit the market there has been a slight amount of uncertainty of which mobile devices are actually compatible with the mobile head-mounted display (HMD), but the thing to consider is that there have been a few editions of the Gear VR and they don’t necessarily include previous mobile models. VRFocus has come up with a guide outlining which devices are able to function on which editions, including the first and second innovator editions, as well as the more wider spread consumer edition.
Original Innovator Edition
This was the first version of the Gear VR to become available, and it was mostly widely acquired by developers and earlier hardcore VR fans back during the end of 2014. The HMD was double the price of what the consumer version does today, which may seem unrealistic now at just under $200 USD. This original Innovator Edition was created with the Note 4 in mind, and that is the only mobile device that is available for this early release.
Second Innovator Edition
It seems Samsung wanted to keep up with itself, appealing to more of a mass market, with the second Innovator Edition completely writing off the Note 4, and when released it was ready to compliment and be paired with the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. Still relatively limited in the way that it is linked with one set of mobile phone with the lack of Note compatibility, this version is what was mostly used during demos and development all the way through last year and even this year. The price is again rather surprising at £169 GBP.
Consumer Version
The Consumer Version, priced at £80, or $99, is what most of you would recognise the Samsung Gear VR to be, and so these specifications for compatibility are the much more relevant than the pricer and older versions of the mobile HMD.
For this edition there is a complete revamp of what devices can be used in the HMD, which is to be expected with the update of hardware power. The Samsung Gear VR is known to many as the headset that was released alongside the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, but the compatibility does date back and include: Note 5, S6 edge+, S6 and S6 edge. Yes – the S6 series has not been left behind quite like the Note 4, and the S6 edge+ was added, but with the ever changing nature of the mobile industry it shouldn’t be expected that it will carry on if and when another consumer version appears.
There you have it, folks. All confusion should be washed away now that each phone for the three released editions have been specified, although it should be noted that the first two editions are not available to the majority of buyers via the Samsung website anymore, which of course makes sense when you can get the more up to date, and much cheaper, consumer version.
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