I just got the new Samsung Gear VR for Galaxy S6, the second Innovator Edition developer headset released in partnership with Oculus. We had tested the first Gear VR with the Note 4 earlier this year, in time for the launch of paid apps in the Oculus store. Since then, few new apps have been introduced to the store, though events like the current Mobile VR Jam is encouraging devs to put their ideas in front of early adopters. Momentum in software and hardware is leading up to Oculus' consumer release in the first quarter of next year, but they've also said that the next Gear VR release will be a consumer-ready one. So while this new Innovator Edition is still a developer kit, it's interesting to see how Samsung is iterating its hardware based on some short-term feedback and also adapting it to fit the 5.1-inch 1440p display in the new Galaxy S6. 577 PPI!

The physical design of the Gear VR for GS6 (I'll just call it "new Gear VR" from now on) is slightly improved from the original. Yes, it's a little smaller, but the ergonomic improvements aren't night and day. Much of the reduced size is due to the lack of the bulky plastic cover plate that fit over the Note 4 when mounted in the headset, which I don't think many people used anyway. In its place is a smaller plastic protector plate that fits into the slot where the GS6 sits when not in use, to protect the lenses. You don't have a way of covering up the phone when it's slotted in the new Gear VR, and that's just fine. Overall, the headset weighs a little less with the phone plugged in, partly due to the GS6 being significantly lighter than the Note 4 as well. I still found the head straps a little too short for my liking, though. With enough slack, the whole unit fits relatively comfortably over my glasses, but I ended up using it without glasses for tonight's tests.

On the bottom of the new Gear VR is a micro-USB port for charging the GS6 while it's mounted. That's a much-needed addition from the Note 4, and my GS6 was draining its battery really quickly when running VR demos unplugged. I don't have the Note 4 any more for a direct power consumption comparison, but I'll be conducting a VR battery test soon with Oculus Cinema and Hero Bound.

The touchpad is a tad smaller on the new Gear VR, and now has an indent to help guide your finger to its center point. For some reason, the back button was also moved slightly toward the front of the headset. These changes didn't affect my use of the touchpad, and I still prefer using a bluetooth gamepad for both UI navigation and games.

On the left side of the headset, Samsung added a small fan and opening for airflow. When I first heard about this, my thought was that the fan would be used for cooling down the mounted phone, since the Note 4 had a tendency to overheat and slow games down in long sessions. However, the fan in the new Gear VR--which is powered by the phone--is actually used to reduce lens fogging. In practice, it works really well, too. I didn't have to wipe the inside of the Gear VR once while running demos tonight, something I had to do every 15 minutes or so with the Note 4. Some people have reported that their new Gear VR arrived with a busted fan, but it's really just quiet. It also only activates when your face triggers the proximity sensor on the inside of the headset.

But what you really wanted to know about was the optics, right? First, the bad news. The smaller screen size of the GS6 (5.1-inch vs 5.7-inch in the Note 4) meant that the optics had to be designed to show a smaller field of view. Doing some A-B comparisons between the original and new Gear VR makes this difference really noticeable. The new Gear VR feels much more like you're wearing a scuba mask, with the curvature of the lenses obscuring much of your peripheral vision. I can't peg an exact FOV to the new Gear VR, but if the Note 4 version had a 96-degree FOV, this feels closer to 90 degrees. Fortunately, the more limited FOV didn't bug me much while running games and Oculus Cinema--it just doesn't feel as immersive as what I remember of my Crescent Bay and Vive demos.

Image quality, however, was fantastic with the GS6's screen--easily the sharpest that VR has looked outside of the Crescent Bay and HTC Vive demos. UI text was very readable, and a comparison between the DK2 and the new Gear VR made me want to put away that desktop dev kit forever. That's not to say the screen door effect is completely nullified. Without any optical diffusion with the use of fresnel lenses, you can still make out the shimmering subpixels of the Super AMOLED screen. It's a far cry from the crosshatching of 1080p screens in VR, but still noticeable in text, photos, rendered scenes, and video playback. This also makes me curious why Samsung didn't put Crescent Bay-style fresnel lenses in the Gear VR. Is it because Oculus is holding the technology back for its own consumer release, or because fresnel optics aren't compatible with the way smartphones are mounted into VR headsets? I don't think it's the latter, but it does make me wonder about the inherent limitations of using a smartphone as a VR display as opposed to a panel arrangement that can be optimized for the optics.

Other things I noticed from early testing:

- With no microSD card slot in the GS6, all of the Oculus software had to be downloaded--a process which automatically starts when you first plug the phone into the new Gear VR. Oculus software does not appear in the Google Play store.

- I'm not sure if this is new to the new Gear VR, but the Oculus Home app looks a lot better than before, with the interface hovering in front of a virtual seaside mansion backdrop instead of just a glowing blue background. The app library menu in this version is also much improved, with a large grid display of all your downloaded apps and games. Less scrolling required.

- A recent update to Oculus Cinema now supports a limited form of video streaming. A "shorts" menu lists half a dozen streaming 2D videos, some of which were produced by video software maker Red Giant. The video quality was fine on a good Wi-Fi connection, but I did notice increased juddering and the skewing effects of asynchronous timewarp while streaming video, something that went away when I tested local video playback.

- The camera passthrough looks a lot better on the GS6 than I remember on the Note 4. That may be because the GS6 camera has a 28mm equivalent focal length, which is a bit wider than the 31mm equivalent lens on the Note 4. The wider angle lens allows more of your field of view to be filled with camera passthrough video, so it looks less boxed in. Ironic, considering the reduced FOV of the entire system.

- Like with the Note 4, some apps just refused to load or crashed soon after launching. These included the NextVR Coldplay app and some VRSE videos.

- The new Gear VR no longer comes with that sweet carrying case like the first model. Instead, you get a drawstring bag and small wiping cloth.

- When I pre-ordered the new Gear VR, Samsung and Best Buy had it listed for $250. The price has since been dropped to $200 for the launch, for whatever reason. Best Buy only charged the new price, but if you pre-ordered and were charged $250 (or paid in advance), make sure you ask for a price match or refund credit.

Those are my impressions after a day of use. I'll of course be continuing my testing of the Gear VR for Galaxy S6, including taking it along for a flight I'm boarding first thing tomorrow morning. If overheating ends up not being a problem, we may use this for some app showcase videos in the future as well. Until then, here are some comparison photos between the Gear VR Innovator Edition for Note 4 and GS6. (The newer model is on the bottom).