New Gear VR for Note 7 Announced with Wider Field of View, Compatible with Prior Gear VR Phones

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Aug 2, 2016

Samsung today announced a new version of their Gear VR headset with a wider field of view. The headset is compatible with both the Note 7’s new USB Type-C connector as well as micro-USB, offering support for all phones from the prior version of the headset.

The new Gear VR (SM-R323) features a 101 degree field of view, a slight improvement over the 96 degree field of view of the prior Gear VR (SM-R322). The new version weighs in at 312 grams, slightly less than the prior version. The company claims “A refined design makes it more ergonomic and comfortable.”

While the new Galaxy Note 7 is sure to be more powerful, and possibly capable of rendering VR views in more detail than its predecessors, its resolution remains the same 2560x1400p as all prior Gear VR-compatible phones.

The ability to connect either the Note 7 with its USB Type-C connection or the microUSB connection of prior Gear VR compatible phones comes through an adapter which will slide in and out of the Gear VR’s hinged connection. It isn’t clear yet if both the Type-C and microUSB adapters will be included in the box, but we’d suspect (and hope) that to be the case.

See Also: Samsung Launches Gear VR Headset in the US, Coming ‘Soon’ to Europe — See Also: Everything You Need to Know About Samsung Gear VR Phone Compatibility

The release announcing the new Gear VR for Note 7 seems to indicate that there will be an open USB port for connecting accessories, though it’s unclear if it will be a full-sized USB port or something else. The Note 7 also has a microSD card that supports up to 256GB, which means more room for VR games (and everything else of course).

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Gear VR and the Galaxy Note 7 will begin pre-orders on August 3rd with a release date of August 19th. There’s a chance we’ll see some bundle options with the phone as Samsung has done in the past, but haven’t heard anything on that front just yet.

Sven

Google Daydream?
- bschuler
  
  Nope.. this just may be the last of the Oculus powered VR for mobile before Daydream takes over.
Doctor Bambi

You know, I’ve found it kind of puzzling that the marketing material always shows the headset without the top strap. Is the Gear VR comfortable using it this way? I’ve got the innovator edition which absolutely needs the top strap to be usable for any length of time.
- Martin Antholzner
  
  It’s ok for short use when you pass it around without the top strap – I guess it also greatly depends on your face shape. For any longer sessions I certainly would not want to use it without the top strap.
- Joshua Peck
  
  Yes you can wear the newer Samsung Gear VR Models with just one strap and it is comfortable.
- DougP
  
  I’ve found the standard Gear VR very comfortable, even long sessions, with just the single strap.
Charles

So does it have a higher refresh rate? The low refresh rate of all current Gear VR phones (60 Hz) is one of its biggest drawbacks.
VirtualBro

oh man, the IPD still isn’t adjustable?

I don’t know if it’s the narrow IPD or the fact that you can’t fit your glasses inside, but the GearVR makes me super nauseous even though I have no trouble with my Rift/Vive
- DougP
  
  Agree it would be an oversight. However, I’m not certain how important it is to a majority of people.
  
  Myself, I’ve used my Vive with many different settings, including after I’ve had others change IPD….and honestly really never notice a difference. Most definitely never felt nauseous due to it.
  
  Similarly I’ve had dozens of people use my Vive, with a great variety of face shapes & IPDs & just left my Vive in my *default* setting & no ones ever complained – always staying in for long sessions & having a great time & saying “everything looks good & feels sharp.” No one has reported nausea either.
  
  Wonder if some people are just more sensitive?
Joshua Peck

Amazing news!
Walter Sharrow

Greater field of vision would be nice… but…. it’s not positional tracking or hand tracking. It’s like putting a spoiler on a Corolla well everybody else is driving a Ferrari. Even Google’s Daydream works in a Wii-Remote ripoff to sorta track hand movement. It’s not much, but it’s something. This is a very minor upgrade on Samsung’s part.
- Renato Wisocki Jr
  
  soon HTC will release a daydream phone, hope it will have positional tracking;
  - Pistol Pete
    
    I’m finally getting rid of iPhone and searching for a VR phone. If HTC pulls this off I’m getting theirs.
  - Walter Sharrow
    
    DayDream won’t do positional tracking, unfortunately. It has a Wii-Remove style remote, which does motion tracking. So you basically get two rotational tracking devices, instead of just the one for your head. But that’s *NOT* tracking the positional of either the head or the hands.
    
    It’s not a bad thing, and I’m excited to see it in operation. As a game designer, I can do alot with that remote. But it’s NOT positional tracking.
Joe Banes

Curious. He mentioned the support for 256GB SD card and that we can store VR games there, but in the current S7 and Edge you can’t use the SD card to store VR games or any applications for that matter which is a pain as I run out of space easily now. Though I have plenty of room on my SD card. I hope this is true of the Note 7 and perhaps they make this change for the current S7’s as well. Unless I missed a new setting that already allows this?
- TICORDIA A BOONE
  
  The note 7 supports 256gb sd cards. I have a note 7 with the 256gb as card. Works great.