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Samsung Gear VR headset now comes with a new controller, and will ship in April for $129 [Video]

Just like Harman (and, more specifically, AKG) are helping Samsung to step up its audio game, Oculus is the firm’s partner of choice when it comes to VR.

Together, they are today announcing a “renewed” version of the Gear VR headset, which comes with a cool new controller…

While not necessarily putting it at the heart of its ecosystem, virtual reality has been a prominent area of interest for Samsung in the past few years. With the Gear VR headset it has been trying to push mobile VR forward, and today’s adjourned version looks to take things one step further.

However, to be fair, it needs to be pointed out that this is essentially the exact same headset that Samsung launched alongside the Galaxy Note 7 last year, and the one we saw at Mobile World Congress last month, save for the “Orchid Grey” coloration it is borrowing from the Galaxy S8.

The one interesting thing — that is also actually new — is the battery-powered controller it comes with; it is not too dissimilar from the peripheral used with Google‘s Daydream View, with buttons for “back”, “home” and “volume” in addition to a touchpad area, as well as a built-in trigger.

At launch, twenty titles will support the controller, however Samsung plans to have compatibility extended to over 70 titles “in the coming months”. As far as price goes, the retro-compatible controller will retail for $29, which covers exactly the price bump from the old $99 to $129 for this version. Just like the S8, it will start shipping on April 21.

In the meantime, you can join Elton John and this ostrich in their liberating (virtual?) reality flight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjKd24UCPYY

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Avatar for Edoardo Maggio Edoardo Maggio

Italian. Tech geek, video games, photography and music lover, comics-based movies enthusiast, and a sucker for good design. Amateur photographer (VSCO, 500px), writer and reporter for 9to5Google.


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