Initial reports about the Gear VR claimed that Samsung are planning to put a lot of focus on the device, but it wasn’t until recently that the picture started to really clear up. It seems that the company really is moving forward very actively with the Gear VR, but at the same time, sadly, some of their current users will have to suffer a little bit. Recent rumors indicated that the Android 5.0 Lollipop update is coming closer for the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, but there have now been reports that the update has been pushed back a little further.
According to the most recent updates, the new Galaxy Note 4 ROM has been handed over to a team that’s working to ensure the device will have full compatibility with Samsung’s Gear VR. Considering the Note 4 is one of the very few devices that will (reportedly) support the Gear VR, it’s no wonder that Samsung are trying so hard to make sure that this compatibility works flawlessly.
The Gear VR is Samsung’s own take on the Virtual Reality concept, although they’re approaching the problem from a different direction. Instead of selling a complete device including an internal screen for the goggles, the Gear VR is meant to be used with Samsung’s other devices. The user would attach, for example, the Galaxy Note 4, and would then use the Gear VR as a normal VR headset, using the screen of the device.
It’s not known how much different this technology will be from the Oculus Rift in terms of performance, and there has been some skepticism aimed at it due to the fact that it relies on one screen instead of two. Still, Samsung seem to know what they’re doing, as they’ve been putting more and more effort into promoting and developing the Gear VR further, so it will be curious to see where they end up with this device. Even if it doesn’t break any solid grounds on the VR market, it still has the potential to set interesting new trends for it, and at least push it forward to some extent. So far, its performance has been acceptable, although those who’ve tried it seem to be left with mixed opinions.
Other devices that are going to get the Android 5.0 Lollipop update include the Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Alpha, Galaxy S5 mini, and Galaxy S4. Exact release dates for the new firmware version are not known, but it’s expected that Samsung will prioritize the devices according to their compatibility with the Gear VR. This could potentially indicate which devices Samsung is planning to make compatible with the headset in the future, too.