There's a ton of momentum behind the virtual reality movement, but even the Oculus Rift and Sony's Project Morpheus are a ways away from reaching consumer markets.

Capitalizing on the rush for consumer-ready virtual reality devices, Samsung has partnered with Oculus to develop a new headset that it plans on launching this fall: the Samsung Gear VR Headset.

Unlike the aforementioned headsets, Samsung's Gear VR doesn't have any display or CPU of its own. Instead, it uses the new Galaxy Note 4's quad HD display and speedy Snapdragon 805 to pump out immersive visuals. We had a chance to go eyes on with the Gear VR Headset.

Like the Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus, the Gear VR is essentially a blocky plastic rectangle that straps onto your head and over your eyes. The front element is removable and covers a pivoting cradle and micro USB connector for the Galaxy Note 4. Just pop the Note 4 in and snap it back together and you're good to go. Inside are two lenses not unlike those found on the Oculus Rift. There's a focus wheel on the top, while a physical Back button and small touch pad are on the right edge.

The Gear VR software automatically launches once connected, transporting users straight into Samsung's virtual reality world. You can navigate by swiping the touch pad or move the on-screen cursor by tilting your head. Tapping the touch pad makes selections. It was a bit awkward and difficult to locate the touch pad at first, but not a huge issue.

Using the Note 4's quad HD display, each eye gets to see a 1,280-by-1,440-pixel area. That's more than the Oculus Rift DK2's 960-by-1,080 pixels per eye. Our demo included a front-row seat to Coldplay, a deep sea dive with a blue whale, and a tour of Tony Stark's lab from The Avengers. The whole experience was comparable to what I've seen from the DK2, which is impressive considering that device requires a full-blown computer.

Despite the partnership, the Gear VR won't run Oculus apps, but Samsung reps say that porting titles over shouldn't be too difficult depending on the graphics engines used.

No word yet on pricing or availability, but Samsung didn't rule out a U.S. release. Stay tuned for more details this fall.

Check out VR efforts of the past, present, and future in Making Virtual a Reality.

Check out our rundown of Samsung's announcements in the video below.

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