Samsung has rolled out another iteration of its Gear VR virtual reality headset. Like the previous Gear VR ($24.99 at Amazon) , this is a Google Cardboard-like plastic shell in which you place a compatible Samsung Galaxy smartphone to experience VR through the Oculus-powered Gear VR app store. Its biggest upgrade is that it supports the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (849.99 For the latest plan and device pricing: 844-235-3939 at T-Mobile) thanks to a modular connector with USB-C and micro USB adapters. Otherwise, it doesn't make any major changes to the Gear VR formula. It still costs $99.99, it still offers a comfortable fit and useful interaction features like a touchpad for controlling apps, and it still stands as a good way to experience VR without investing in a PC-based, tethered headset like the much more expensive HTC Vive ($99.99 at Amazon) or Oculus Rift ($900.00 at Amazon) .

Design

The new Gear VR ($99.99 at Amazon) eschews the white of Samsung's previous headsets for a near-black midnight blue finish. Besides the color change and the expected iterative adjustments to work with the latest Galaxy phones, however, the latest Gear VR looks and feels very similar to previous models.

The right side of the headset holds a touchpad that's larger and flatter than the previous one (which has textured bumps to indicate the cardinal directions, which isn't really necessary), along with physical Back, Home, and Volume buttons. The top of the headset holds a mechanical focus wheel, while the underside has a pass-through charging port for your connected phone. The port is now USB-C rather than micro USB. No cable is included, though you do get a micro USB-to-USB-C adapter so you can use your older charging cables. A USB-C cable that terminates in a standard USB port would have been more convenient, since the adapter is very small and can get easily lost, but it's helpful if you don't already have a USB-C cable.

Two sturdy fabric bands attach to the Gear VR with hook-and-loop fasteners to keep the headset connected securely to your face. The horizontal headband is fairly wide, and pulls through loops on either side of the headset. The thinner vertical headband has a plastic hook that clicks into place on top. Once adjusted, the Gear VR felt comfortable on my head, staying pressed snugly against my face without any irritating rubbing of plastic on skin or awkward distribution of weight against the straps.

Smartphone Integration

The Gear VR's USB-C adoption is necessary for the Galaxy Note 7 and presumably Samsung's future Galaxy devices. The headset is also compatible with the Galaxy Note 5, S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, S7 ($199.99 at Samsung) , and S7 Edge ($792.00 at Verizon Wireless) , all of which use a micro USB port. Samsung has a very functional workaround, and it's more than a simple adapter: The entire docking connector on the Gear VR is modular. A locking switch lets you slide the pre-installed USB-C docking connector off of a small mount and replace it with an included micro USB connector. The connector attaches securely when the switch is locked, making it feel like it's an integrated part of the headset. It's a much better solution than an adapter that can be lost (like the included charging port adapter, which really should be replaced by a USB-to-USB-C charging cable).

Installing a phone in the Gear VR is simple. Once the correct docking connector is attached, set its position between A or B using a small button located under it (A is for Galaxy Notes, B is for Galaxy S smartphones). Plug the phone into the connector and push it down, locking it in place using the latch opposite the docking connector. If the software isn't already installed, the phone will prompt you to remove it from the connector and install the Gear VR and Oculus apps before returning it to the headset. After everything is installed, you're ready to use VR.

Technical Capabilities

In terms of sheer resolution, the Gear VR technically has the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift beat, since it uses Galaxy smartphones with 2,560-by-1,440 screens compared with the Rift and Vive's 2,100-by-1,200 panels. That doesn't tell the whole story, though. The Gear VR has to adjust to work with multiple Galaxy smartphones, and those phones aren't built with VR as the primary use case. The Rift and Vive's displays are dedicated to VR, with 90Hz refresh rates that can offer smoother, more immersive motion compared with the 60Hz Android tops out at.

The Rift and Vive also have much more processing power behind them thanks to the gaming PCs required to run them, and they feature far more accurate motion tracking thanks to external sensors the Gear VR lacks. The Gear VR's graphics are compelling and look very smooth, and the internal motion sensors on the installed smartphones are generally accurate. But the Rift and Vive simply offer much smoother, more advanced visuals and far greater motion-tracking precision than the Gear VR because of the complicated, bulky, and expensive hardware they require.

VR Performance

I tested the Gear VR with a Galaxy S7 using the micro USB connector and a Galaxy Note 7 using the USB-C connector. It worked perfectly in both cases, functioning identically to the previous Gear VR and earlier Galaxy devices. Both phones stayed in place securely, and the connectors functioned as they should. Each device automatically went into VR mode and opened the Oculus app when installed in the Gear VR, and each slept when I removed the headset thanks to a proximity sensor in the face mask.

Samsung worked with Oculus to produce the Gear VR, and the software store is available entirely through the Oculus app. There aren't any must-try VR apps available, but between video consumption and casual gaming there's enough to keep you occupied. For video, I tried the Netflix and Rio Olympics apps. Netflix puts you in a comfortable home theater, sitting in front of a big-screen television that has the standard Netflix interface. It lets you watch anything on Netflix as if you were in front of your TV, no matter where you are. I enjoyed this when I last tested the Gear VR, and it still holds up.

The Rio Olympics app is new and offers views of certain Olympic events filmed with a 360-degree camera. I watched highlights of boxing with ringside seats. It's an interesting effect, and certainly more immersive than watching it on a standard screen, but even with headphones it didn't quite feel like I was actually sitting there, watching the fight. And very fast action like sports brings out motion and resolution issues in an attached phone's display that more cinematic video and completely computer-generated games keep to a minimum.

Gaming

For games, I played Darknet, Shooting Showdown 2, and a Suicide Squad tie-in VR title. The latter two are shooting gallery games that use the touchpad as a trigger, and both performed fairly well. Gunslinging in VR is fun, using your head to aim much more quickly than you could with thumbsticks. They're both pretty shallow as far as gameplay goes, however.

Darknet is a surprisingly fun puzzle game about hacking, using viruses to reach the center of different boards while avoiding antivirus programs. The VR aspect puts you in the middle of each server, which is represented by a glowing web of nodes. You look at different nodes to inject viruses, then watch them spread. The perspective lets servers vary wildly in size and complexity, forcing you to look around as the webs spread around you. It's simple, but deceptively engaging.

Web Browser

I also used Samsung's Internet for Gear VR, a virtual reality Web browser. It doesn't turn Web pages into VR experiences or anything wildly ambitious like that. It's simply a Web browser that you can use with the Gear VR, projecting the page you're viewing as a screen floating in front of you. It's similar in execution to the Virtual Desktop software for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, but not quite as powerful or all-encompassing; it only shows Web pages, not whatever would otherwise be on your device's screen. It's a useful app to have on hand, though, since it lets you browse the Web without taking the headset off.

Conclusions

The new Samsung Gear VR is a functional, accessible, and affordable way to play with VR if you have a compatible Galaxy phone, and anyone with even a passing interest in VR should seriously consider giving it a shot. Outside of the USB-C connector and support for the Galaxy Note 7, however, the latest headset doesn't bring anything new to the table. If you already have a Gear VR and a Galaxy phone that works with it, there's no reason to get the latest iteration. If you just picked up a Note 7, though, take a look at the Gear VR. You'll find a compelling experience virtual reality without spending the much higher prices and heavy PC hardware requirements of the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift.

Samsung Gear VR (2016) 4.0 See It $99.99 at Amazon MSRP $99.99 Pros Easy setup.

Comfortable.

Relatively inexpensive. Cons Not as visually impressive or technically powerful as PC-based headsets.

No charging cable included. The Bottom Line The latest Samsung Gear VR headset lets you experience virtual reality on the Galaxy Note 7, along with most other recent Galaxy smartphones.

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