Samsung at their Unpacked event today revealed the Gear 360 camera, a new consumer-focused device for shooting 360 video which can also be viewed in VR.

On stage at their Unpacked event in Barcelona, Samsung took the wraps off of the Gear 360 camera, a portable consumer-focused camera that captures 360 degree video.

The camera is a sphere with lenses on opposing sides, each shooting monoscopic 180 degree video with an f2.0 aperture. Each half is then stitched together and Samsung says the result is a 30MP 360 degree video. The camera connects to the user’s phone allowing for a live preview of what’s being captured.

samsung gear 360 camera unpacked

Samsung showed off footage from the device to hundreds of audience members at Unpacked, each wearing a Samsung Gear VR headset.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to the stage following the demonstration to talk about how the company has been making headway on 360 degree video streaming over their social network and said that Facebook 360 video would be coming to Gear VR in the “next few weeks.” Details were slim, but Samsung said users would be able to share their 360 videos to social seamlessly, and it looks like Facebook will be the prefered partner for doing so.

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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Maria da Cunha

    Is 3D ???????????

    • Senshi88

      no, its monoscopic

  • Jzen

    yeah its awesome! you can try it with YouTube and Google Cardboard, its more immersive with gear V.R.and your Samsung cell. the upcoming s7 is now Facebook enabled and YouTube friendly. Exciting Times. all explained at ThisIsMein360.com

  • Senshi88

    the 360 video will have 4k and the 360 photo 30mp

  • Foreign Devil

    Did I see that they will be releasing a new Gear VR with HEADTRACKING??

  • Rob Xsiq

    I am thinking there needs to be at least 3 more cameras on that bad boy for proper HD…1 on top and 2 on the sides
    Still though, nice start. 360 webcams is gonna be amazing..gonna bring a lot of people stuck at home anywhere they want to go, be it a concert, church, nightclub, or just let you sit at your friend/family’s house and feel like you are actually there.

    • kalqlate

      Agreed on all, except two fish-eye lenses with the proper stitching software does wonders for lessening complexity and reaching a lower price-point while still delivering an image/video hard to distinguish from the 3+ camera config you describe.

      Sadly, they are not advertising this as a “webcam”; meaning, no live streaming. Note that here and in the associated media it is always presented as “video”, a.k.a. recording with sharing. The day that they do allow live 360 streaming will be a glorious day… the age of telepresence VR will be upon us, and all of the scenarios that you dream of will be realized.

      • Rob Xsiq

        Yeah, I would think that will be a priority build for webcam companies, a 360 hd webcam at a reasonable cost would make a fortune I would think.

        • kalqlate

          To be successful, realtime 360 telepresence VR requires infrastructure to host the stream and to pick out and deliver, with as low a latency as possible, that portion of the stream that a particular viewer’s headset is oriented to. Otherwise, you have to deliver the entire 360 stream to all viewers and process the view locally. You can look to YouTube and Facebook to be among the first to implement live 360 streaming followed by chat services, who may piggyback on services provided by YouTube or Facebook.

          As for webcam designs, look to Logitech to show the way. As with all of Google’s VR designs, I think their future headsets and a low-cost 360 webcam will be design and spec only–I think Google is most comfortable being the platform and design provider for industry manufacturers. That way, they won’t have to battle patents and licensing in the VR space, particularly those held by Apple (like a stealthy cat waiting for the optimum time to pounce), while at the same time assuring compatibility and plug’n’play among manufacturers in their camp and perhaps others.

  • Rook

    I was waiting for the right price point….. jumping on this one

  • JoeD

    Wow, more 2D 360 video. Yawn. Let me know, Facebook, when you start using your Gear VR for what it was meant for: actual VR.

  • Pobrecito hablador

    let me know when they release a stereoscopic cam. 360 video is useless.
    I’d rather have 180 3d video than 360 2d.