The newest iteration of Samsung Gear VR, the company’s VR headset designed to work with Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, is now available from both Samsung’s US website and Best Buy’s online store for $199.
Samsung is today accepting orders for the new version of the ‘Innovator Edition’ Gear VR headset directly from the company’s US website for $199. Much like last year’s model, exact dates for international availability have yet to be determined.
Best Buy’s online store, which had previously shown a pre-order price of $249, has lowered it to match Samsung’s. We previously reached out to Best Buy upon seeing the inflated price, but our request for an explanation went unanswered. It’s still unclear whether the original pricing scheme was a mistake or not.
The only major difference between ordering from either site is the ability to select Best Buy’s 2-Year ‘Accidental Replacement Plan’ for $39.99, an extended warranty that includes “drops & spills” of the headset, but likely doesn’t extend to the phone itself. Both sites are including free express shipping.
See Also: Samsung Gear VR for S6 Hands-on, “the best picture quality we’ve ever seen”
Gear VR for S6 is also planned to hit select Best Buy store shelves on May 15th. Samsung maintains that “Gear VR demonstrations and availability [will expand] to hundreds more Best Buy stores throughout the summer.”
Both online shops have omitted the previous model’s gamepad bundle, a $249 price tier that included the Note 4-compatible VR headset and Samsung’s bluetooth gamepad.