The Samsung Gear VR is the company’s flagship virtual reality product for its smartphone devices from the Galaxy S6/Note 5 onwards. Samsung is one of the few major players in the smartphone virtual reality space with the only main competitor being Google’s DayDream headset. However, Samsung have leveraged their relationship with Oculus, and by extension Facebook, to bulk out their VR ecosystem, thereby making it a more mature platform in comparison to Google’s. Furthermore, it is notable that there is no VR solution by Apple for their iPhone line-up, meaning that if you are interested in a mobile VR experience, Google and Samsung are the only options available.
Setup Experience
The setup experience is a simple affair, as already discussed in my first impressions article. It involves attaching the two Velcro straps to the Gear VR headset, pairing the controller via Bluetooth to your smartphone, and completing the out-of-box experience through the Oculus app on the headset, which includes a safety briefing and a tutorial to guide you through the virtual reality experience and how to interact with it.
After the initial setup experience, the virtual reality experience can be launched by simply plugging your smartphone into the Gear VR’s USB port, whether that be USB-C or micro-USB. This will result in the Oculus VR environment being automatically launched. However, prior to attaching your phone to the headset, it is necessary to pair it with the Bluetooth controller because it is not possible to do so whilst the VR environment is activated given the inability to return to the normal Android OS environment without ejecting the device out of the holder.
Furthermore, after the initial setup, your device will download a significant number of VR related apps and updates, such as Samsung Gallery VR, Samsung Internet VR, and Samsung Video VR. The Oculus platform on which the VR experience runs is also regularly updated in the background, thereby ensuring constant improvement to the experience. Thus, it is recommended that you keep auto-updates turned on, but this can be disabled via the Oculus app if need be, which will automatically be downloaded when the Gear VR is attached to the device for the first time.
Immersion
The Gear VR offers a 110O field of view, which is towards the upper end of the spectrum of what is possible with current mobile technology. By comparison, the field of view for the human eye is in the 170O range, so the view offered by the Gear VR is approaching that of full human vision, but it is not quite there yet. Nevertheless, this is an impressive feat considering that the Microsoft Hololens could only muster 85O of view in its first incarnation, but that headset makes use of AR (augmented reality) rather than VR and thus the technical challenges are far more significant. Despite this, the Gear VR succeeds in offering a very convincing view of virtual reality in terms of its visual representation.
The experience can be further enhanced by using headphones during the VR experience to enable spatial sound. This greatly adds to the illusion of reality, with the sounds changing in real time as you move your head around the environment. One particularly good example of this is in the Roller Coaster VR game, whereby the sound of the water fall can be heard coming from a variety of different directions depending on the location of the cart.
In terms of the head fit of the device, it comes with two straps – one that goes around your head and the other that goes over your head. This is an improvement over the original generation of Gear VR dating from 2015, which just featured a side strap. The additional of a vertical strap that goes over the top of your head greatly aids in enhancing the stability of the device whilst at the same time minimising light leakage from the outside environment because of the unintended movement of the headset, thereby helping to maintain the suspension of disbelief effect. The fabric straps are easily adjusted by using Velcro.
One thing worth noting in terms of the design is the inability to apply the outside facing cover over your smartphone when it is slotted into the Gear VR. This lends the device an unfinished appearance because the back of your phone is visible to the outside world when using the headset, including the connectors and structural build of the headset. This is hidden when the device is not use by applying a black Samsung cover on the front of the headset, but it cannot be used during use given that it connects to the same slots as your phone. Although a minor design issue, fixing this would lend the headset a sleeker visual appearance when in use, whilst at the same time also offering protection should your phone come loose from the connector, thereby preventing it from falling on to the floor. This is particularly important given that the most recent Samsung Galaxy devices have been constructed out of metal and glass, which is particularly fragile and prone to shattering, unlike the plastic smartphones of old.
Ecosystem
Samsung’s only major rival in the mobile VR space is Google, who launched their DayDream VR platform over a year ago, in comparison to Samsung, who launched the original version of the Gear VR headset back in 2015.
The ‘fist mover advantage’ has given Samsung a couple of years to build up the ecosystem surrounding their VR platform in terms of both quantity and quality of apps and games that are available. This is further bolstered by the fact that the company’s VR platform is based on Oculus software, which is owned by Facebook and is amongst one of the world’s leading VR platforms. Therefore, this helps alleviate issues of vendor lock-in because any content purchased through the Oculus store for the Samsung Gear VR platform will also run on other Oculus compatible hardware. However, there is no denying that Samsung’s partnership with Oculus does limit the accessibility of the ecosystem in comparison to Google DayDream, which can run on any compatible Android smartphone. This is an especially prevalent issue because of the relatively short ownership and lifespan cycles of modern flagship devices, which are normally on 24-month long contracts.
But, putting concerns of ecosystem and vender lock-in aside, there is no denying the fact that Samsung has the premier mobile VR experience with a well-developed ecosystem in terms of the Gear VR headset and controller.
There are several notable examples available on the Oculus Store that demonstrate the VR prowess of the Galaxy smartphone and Gear VR combination. One of the best examples, in my opinion, was ‘The Missed Spaceflight’, which simulates a space launch of a manner USSR capsule that goes wrong shortly after its launch from Kazakhstan. The graphics, music, and environment are simply sublime and it is a great showcase of what the platform is capable of, both in terms of immersion and performance.
Another great example of VR in a more game like environment, but still one based purely on passive viewing rather than active involvement, is ‘Epic Roller Coasters’. The graphics are more akin to those found on a PlayStation 2 from almost fifteen years ago, but the core entertainment value is there. It makes for a fun and simple showcase of virtual reality by riding a roller coaster through various environments. Although it is not a visual tour de force, it is important to bear in mind the compromises that a mobile chipset brings. Unlike ‘The Missed Space Flight’ and other passive experience apps, ‘Epic Roller Coasters’ renders the environment in real time just like that of a real 3D game. This means that there is no opportunity to use pre-scripted and pre-recovered routines, as is the case in some other games, because all the work must be done on the device in real time whilst at the same time ensuring a smooth experience in terms of frame rate. This is a common theme among other games that depend on having input from the user and to be actively involved, unlike more passive experience style apps and games.
In terms of educational experiences, this is where some of the best apps are found. There are two noteworthy examples – ‘Ocean Rift’ and ‘The Body VR’. Both apps have beautiful and rich 3D environments that are combined with novel holographic effects to create a vibrant and enticing educational experience. As is the case with most other apps, the performance and frame rate are excellent with immersive 360O environments that can be viewed from any angle.
The ecosystem of apps and games are probably the strongest point of the Gear VR experience thanks to Samsung’s co-operation with Oculus. However, whilst there are many great apps and games available for free, some of the best content is payware. This is reflected in the cost of the apps, which are often more than what would be expected on the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store. This is likely a result of the more demanding development and optimisation workflows required when developing VR compatible software. Nevertheless, with the caveat about price aside, there is no denying that Samsung and the Gear VR is the place to be for a best mobile experience.
Performance and Compatibility
During use, the Gear VR will automatically alter the display resolution of your smartphone from 1080p to 1440p. This is necessary to improve the sharpness of the image because of the very high level of zoom that is created by the lens in the headset to emulate the vision of the human eye. Unfortunately, detaching the device from the Gear VR does not automatically readjust the display resolution back to 1080p or 720p, depending upon your configuration. This appears to be a significant oversight, which is further hampered by the fact that if you have changed the DPI/display density then it will also be set back to the original default option. Although this sounds trivial, if you are a heavy user of the Gear VR headset, having to constantly restore the display settings back to your own options can become a nuisance, with the consequences being increased battery drain and reduced performance when the display is kept at the higher 1440p resolution.
Despite the headset automatically increasing the resolution of the display, mobile VR technology still has a long way to go. This is because even at the higher resolution, which yields a pixel density of 567PPI on the Galaxy S8, it is still possible to make out the PenTile arrangement of the OLED panel, which is particularly prominent when displaying white. The OLED pixel arrangement evidences itself with a slight colour shimmer around on-screen elements, which can become particularly noticeable when the headset is incorrectly focused. I can only imagine that this problem is more acute on larger screened devices, such as the Galaxy S8+ and Note 8, both of which feature bigger displays but the same display resolution, thereby leading to a slightly lower pixel density in comparison to the Galaxy S8 and S9.
Although pixel density remains an issue (and will likely do so for years to come), it does not hinder the experience in any significant way. This is because once the lenses of the Gear VR have been correctly focused and the VR environment loaded, the shimmering effect is not particularly evident, with it only becoming apparent when the entire view is a solid colour (especially white), but this is rarely the case.
One of the problems with VR solutions is motion sickness. Many attempts have been made to alleviate this problem, with Samsung incorporating a high frame rate and an OLED display to help prevent it from occurring. The smartphone attempts to run the VR experience at a constant 60FPS (frames per second), which is high enough to prevent any obvious stuttering, missed frames, and lag when moving around the environment, but low enough to be achievable on smartphone hardware running demanding 3D environments. On more powerful VR headsets that are linked to a PC the target frame rate is 90FPS, but this is not a realistic goal for such small and underpowered devices. Despite this, motion sickness was never a concern during my time with the Gear VR, although I would sometimes experience disorientation, particularly on poorly designed games and apps, which often did not account for the fact that designing for a VR environment requires a subtler approach, such as keeping background motion slow and consistent to prevent creating a busy scene. But, any motion sickness issues arising from the use of VR can only be mitigated (rather than prevented), and therefore this requires carefully designing VR apps and games in a way that is considerate to human vision and cognitive processing, whilst at the same time striving to maintain a high frame rate to create the illusion of reality, and an educated user that is aware of their limits and how to use the technology in an appropriate and safe manner.
However, putting aside the minor issues relating to resolution and motion sickness, the environment created in Gear VR is very convincing. It is particularly noteworthy how performant the entire experience is, with the frame rate being consistently high and movements in the virtual world being smooth and responsive. This is impressive considering the constraints of the hardware and it is a notable example of how optimisation can succeed in creating an experience that exceeds that of the expected performance from a smartphone form factor. Nevertheless, the demands of running a VR environment are evident on the hardware. Even the shortest of VR sessions are incredibly power and battery intensive, with the device becoming hot to touch even after a couple of minutes of usage. This is no surprise because of the tight thermal constraints in which the chipset of a smartphone must operate within, but it does give pause for concern in relation to the long-term impact on continued VR use, especially with regards to the possibility of heat degradation to the battery after prolonged and intensive use.
Closing Remarks
Virtual reality is still an emerging technology, but Samsung have been keen to cement their lead in mobile VR through a combination of stellar hardware and a rich software ecosystem. This is evident throughout the entire Gear VR experience, such as through their integration with Oculus to provide the premier mobile VR platform. In terms of cost, the Gear VR can be purchased from £119 via Amazon or directly from Samsung. This is towards the steeper end of the price spectrum, especially when it requires one of Samsung’s latest flagship smartphones to be functional. However, the cost of entry is more than mitigated by the fact that the bundle includes the Gear VR Motion Controller, which makes interacting in the VR environment much easier, and the content rich ecosystem that the Gear VR gives access to. Therefore, if you own a recent Samsung smartphone and want to immerse yourself in the burgeoning world of virtual reality, there is no better accessory that the Gear VR.
Thank you to Samsung for providing a loan device for reviewing purposes. To purchase the product, visit www.samsung.co.uk.
The Tech Testers 