You can now apply to attend Oculus Connect 3! Join us at our largest Connect yet in San Jose, CA, October 5-7 for technical talks, workshops, and keynotes from engineers, designers, and creators pioneering the future of virtual reality.

New this year, John Carmack will give his VR app critiques live on stage during the first day of the conference. You’ll also have the chance to hear his signature unscripted keynote — extended this year to 90 minutes. John will join Brendan Iribe, Michael Abrash, and other special guests in the keynote lineup. OC3 is the best place to learn more about the Touch launch, get the latest news on Gear VR and the Oculus developer platform — plus be the first to try out the exciting new Rift and Gear VR games, apps, and experiences coming to Oculus.

Visit the OC3 website to submit your application today. The application process closes August 19 at 11:59 PM PT. We’ll send acceptance notifications by the end of August — shortly after, you’ll be asked to complete registration.

Registrations completed by September 9 are eligible for early bird pricing at $199. Regular conference passes are $299, and this year, we’re offering a special $99 student/academic pass for current students and faculty.

We’re working closely with developers and partners to create a compelling lineup of talks and workshops across five tracks, including:

Design — Explore early lessons of VR game design with our Oculus Studios team and top developers such as High Voltage Software, Tripwire Interactive, OZWE Games, and more. Learn about breakthroughs for FPS in VR, how to design games with hand presence for Touch, and best practices for cross-platform compatibility.

Development — Get hands-on training for how to build the world’s best VR applications, from tutorials covering the latest Oculus Mobile and PC SDKs, to workshops on top game engines including Unity and Unreal.

Business — From ideation and raising funds, to launching your first experience on the Oculus Store, we’ll bring experts together from across the VR community to discuss how developers of all sizes can find success in the evolving VR ecosystem.

Experiences — Learn VR and 360 video production techniques from the teams that brought you Henry, Nomads: Maasai, LeBron James: Striving for Greatness, and more. Explore the endless possibilities for VR across 360 video, film, art, and education.

Social — From personalized avatars to connecting with real people in virtual worlds, learn how to add deeper levels of immersion to your VR experiences through memorable multiplayer interactions.

The full OC3 schedule will be released in the coming weeks – stay tuned!

Introducing the updated Gear VR Today we’re also excited to share the updated Samsung Gear VR, powered by Oculus*.

This new Gear VR is available for $99 and features improved image clarity, an updated flat trackpad for better usability, a new Oculus Home button on the exterior to make navigating between VR experiences easier, and USB Type C and Type B support.

Pre-orders open August 3 and start shipping August 19.

With more than 300 unique VR games, apps, and videos on the Oculus Store, Gear VR continues to offer the best mobile VR experiences to people around the world.

Please note: This post has been edited to delete reference to the Galaxy Note7. Customer safety is our top priority. While Samsung investigates multiple reports of issues on the Samsung Galaxy Note7, Oculus is removing support for all Note7 devices on the Oculus platform.

Please visit Samsung’s information page or contact Samsung directly for more information.

— The Oculus Team