The Gear VR is relatively cheap at $100, but needs separate headphones and a recent Samsung phone.
Samsung has made history of a sort by launching the first major consumer-oriented virtual reality headset. (It comes with an asterisk; prototypes and other not-quite-mass-market versions have been available for a while.) And its Gear VR headset is pretty impressive as first-generation devices go.
The biggest surprise after using the new Gear VR for a few days: There’s a lot of stuff to watch and play in the virtual worlds the headset opens up. Granted, some of that material is gimmicky. But the best of it hint at some of the mind-expanding experiences VR can make possible.
The Gear VR is relatively cheap, too, at just $100. You do need your own headphones, preferably wireless, plus a recent Samsung phone — the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge Plus or Note 5. If you don’t already have one, the package could set you back nearly $1,000. (Other VR systems will also need companion devices, such as high-end personal computers.)
Samsung developed the Gear VR with the virtual-reality startup Oculus (now part of Facebook). It supplants the $200 “innovator edition” Samsung has sold for a year. That earlier prototype was mainly intended to build enthusiasm for VR and to help developers start producing games and apps for it. Samsung bills the new model as its first consumer VR product, although it still requires some savvy on the consumer’s part to use.
ABOUT THE DEVICE
Your phone attaches to the front of the Gear VR headset, just in front of the lens for your eyes. Put the headset on, and your surroundings disappear as the phone screen opens a window into an unreal, three-dimensional world. As you turn your head, the image shifts accordingly to give the sense of being there in real life. You can even turn all the way around to see what’s behind you. The screen projects slightly different perspectives to your left and right eyes to give the virtual world depth.
The Gear VR wasn’t easy to set up. I had trouble figuring out where all the Velcro straps and hooks were supposed to go. I couldn’t get the phone to snap into place. I needed the manual to find a lever I had to switch because I had a larger phone, the Note 5.
Many consumers might need help from a tech-savvy friend or kid.
I also got frustrated having to wait for apps and video to download — a few minutes in some cases. The Gear VR can stream relatively few videos for instant playback.
WHAT TO DO WITH IT
Fortunately, it was worth the wait most of the time, even if many of the videos seemed like concepts intended to demonstrate the Future of Virtual Reality or are merely promotions for regular movies and TV shows. A lot of it is free, though some videos or apps will set you back $2 to $10.
And some apps were surprisingly absorbing. The notion of the Netflix app, which streams video to a virtual TV in front of you, initially seemed silly. Why not watch a real TV? Well, the virtual TV is huge, much larger than what I could afford in real life. And VR also removes the distractions surrounding you — such as Facebook.
Repeat viewings sometimes turned up unexpected detail. Not until a second viewing of a Cirque du Soleil video did I notice performers to my left and right.
In a horror video, I initially kept my eyes on a woman in distress; only later did I see scary creatures crawling out of a playground. You’re no longer stuck with whatever the director chooses for you.
But one video of the Oct. 13 Democratic presidential debate was disappointing. There were four VR cameras around the room, but you couldn’t pick the one to watch. And in 3-D, candidates looked like dolls on stage. It was a novel idea, but it’ll take time to figure out what works and what doesn’t. This one was also long, while the best ones were typically a few minutes each.
A few apps also have interactive elements.
One lets you walk around a cafe depicted in the Vincent Van Gogh painting “The Night Cafe.” Another lets you explore an island and solve puzzles to open doors. It made me nauseous, though. It’ll be great to see interactive storytelling, with plot lines that change depending on which rooms you choose to explore.
COMPARISONS
The Gear VR is meant for use while sitting down, ideally in a swivel chair. You can’t walk around and explore your virtual environment. (You might trip over the ottoman or break things if you tried.)
The upcoming HTC Vive does offer that kind of walkabout experience, though you’ll also need an uncluttered room. That offers the possibility of brand-new VR experiences, such as walking around the surface of Mars or the interior of a building you just designed.
The Vive, along with the Sony PlayStation VR and the Oculus Rift, will do much more than Gear VR, but will likely cost many times the $100 the Gear VR will set you back.
Samsung’s gadget is impressive for the price.
The Samsung Gear VR is more than just another fancy gaming platform. Thanks to appsthat can teach you another language, let you get up close and personal with marine life or put you at the top of Mount Everest, the headset is your portal to an ever-growing number of worlds. Unlike regular media, the Gear VR offers total immersion, making you an active participant in your new environment. Credit: Jeremy Lips / Tom's Guide APPS Want to browse the Web, watch a movie with friends or learn a new language? The Apps section is a hodgepodge of helpful software. Netflix (Free) 
You won't have the ability to watch House of Cards or Orange is the New Black with a 360-degree perspective, but watching Netflix on the Gear VR is fun nonetheless. Transforming your room into a private theater on a mountainside chalet, you'll be impressed by the sharp detail on some of your favorite series. Just don't forget the popcorn. Gamepad optional. Oculus Social (Free) 
Who says that VR is a lonely man's game? Currently in the alpha phase of testing, Oculus Social lets a group of six chat and watch Twitch and Vimeo content in a virtual theater. When it launches, Samsung is hoping viewers will use the headset to watch live streams or television shows with friends and loved ones, no matter where they are physically. Headset only. Oculus Video (Free) If you manage to exhaust Netflix's massive catalog, you can always check out Oculus Video, which includes original and user-generated content. Thanks to the partnership with Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox, you can rent or purchase such films as The Evil Dead and Pulp Fiction. Viewers searching for the next indie darling should feel freeto search Vimeo’s vast library or catch a live stream from Twitch. Gamepad optional. Samsung Internet (Free) Currently in beta, SamsungInternet (SI) is a like a virtual-reality Minority Report. Instead of your usual series of browsers, SI relies on a series of floating panels to display your current or recent Web visits. And forget about typing in your searches; a simple "OK, Google," and you're off to the races. The tabs you're not using will be patiently waiting in the background and will come to the front with a simple look. Gamepad optional. House of Languages (Free) How do you say, "Pass me the popcorn" in German? Learn this and more in House of Languages, an educational appthat can help you become fluent in German or Spanish. Incorporating 10 locations — such as the zoo, cafe or airport — the app will teach you words and phrases that you'd actually use in real-life conversations with your cute little virtual guide, Mr. Woo. Gamepad optional. Vrse (Free) Ever wonder what it feels like to be in the middle of a protest in the heart of New York City? Now you can find out, sans the threat of arrest, with the Vrse app. Pulling from resources such as Vice News, Vrse is your one-stop shop for gritty on-the-scene reporting as well as viewing short independent films. This app is poised to become one of the leading methods of storytelling in the virtual space. Headset only. Night Cafe (Free) To get an idea of how immersive virtual reality can be, drop in on the Night Cafe. Borrowed Light Studios has turned Vincent van Gogh's painting into a 3D scene you can stroll around, to see the inside of the cafe from every angle. Add some surprise appearances from other van Gogh paintings — you'll spot sunflowers on a mantle, starry nights through a window and even a self-portrait of the artist himself — and it's like diving into the world as van Gogh saw it. Headset only Speech Center VR (Free) Standing behind a podium in a crowded conference room may not have been the virtual world you dreamed of visiting, but if public speaking makes you sweat, it just may be the kind of setting you need. Speech Center VR places you at the center of attention, letting you work on presentations and offering pointers to overcome any fears of public speaking. It's the kind of app that demonstrates how VR headsets can educate as well as entertain. Headset only EXPERIENCES Comprised of more esoteric offerings, Experiences cover everything from educational virtual tours to innovative storytelling programs. theBluVR (Free) "Darling, it's better, down where it's wetter." With the Gear VR, you don't have to take Sebastian's word for it; you can see it yourself with theBluVR. Instead of the usual human perspective, this experience places you in the body of several denizens of the deep — from manta rays to Arctic-bound killer whales to majestic blue whales — as a helpful narrator guides you along. It's a mesmerizing app you have see to believe. Headset only. Neon Museum - Massive Square Inc. (Free) It's not like seeing your name in lights, but it's the next best thing. Instead of traveling all the way to Las Vegas to experience the Neon Museum, you can take a tour from the comfort of your own home. Narrated by a helpful museum guide, patrons will have the opportunity to gaze upon some of the more famous signage of old Vegas, like the Sahara. Headset only. Perfect Beach ($2.99) This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Go to your happy place." Designed as a meditation tool, Perfect Beach transports Gear VR wearers to tropical paradise, complete with blue skies, palm trees and gently lapping water. You have the option to follow the guided meditation exercises or import your favorite music or podcasts to beat a hasty retreat from the stresses of the real world. Headset only. Mars Is A Real Place ($2.99) Just because you're not an astronaut doesn't mean you can't get to Mars. DrashVR's educational app, Mars Is A Real Place, allows curious stargazers to check out the Red Planet without having to go through all that training. Using more than 60 high-resolution stereoscopic 3D shots, you can check out the planet's surface and geologic formations, as well as see the view from orbit. Headset only. Sherlock Holmes: The Wagner Ritual ($2.99) It's Elementary, my dear reader! In Sherlock Holmes: The Wagner Ritual, you step into the shoes of the world's greatest detective as he works to solve one of his earliest mysteries. Set in a 360-degree world, you'll explore various locations in Zurich, Switzerland, investigating key objects to progress further in the case. You'll also be privy to Holmes' inner monologue as well as banter between the detective and his bumbling assistant as you make your way through this interactive mystery. Headset only.
Best Gear VR Games
Amazing, insane, goofy, immersive, trippy — these are just a few of the adjectives we'd use to describe the virtual-reality experience you get with the Samsung Gear VR. The $99 Gear VR makes you feel like you're physically in an imaginary world. It's a brand-new frontier for gamesthat offers a level of immersion that gamers had previously only experienced in fevered dreams.
If you've ever imagined having the power to move things with your mind or piloting a tricked-out spaceship with just a tilt of your head, then you're in the right place. There's even a multiplayer game, so your friends can join in on the fun.
Here are the best games that the Gear VR and the Oculus store have to offer.
Land's End - ($7.99)
The makers of the critically acclaimed Monument Valley bring their beautiful artwork and penchant for devilishly complicated puzzles to Gear VR in Land's End. Set on a mysterious island, you're on a quest to revive an ancient civilization using the power of your mind (OK, head movements) to manipulate objects throughout the locale to get closer to the end goal. It's challenging, immersive and downright captivating. Headset only
Into the Dead - ($8.99)
It's two parts Temple Run mixed with one part Dead Trigger. Into the Dead takes a ghoulish spin on the popular endless runner. Once the game begins, your job is to stay alive by navigating through the zombie hordes by moving the left analog stick when one of the undead rears its decomposing head. But fear not, power-ups sprinkled throughout the course will provide guns and even a canine companion to help you run to safety relatively unscathed. Gamepad required
MORE: Best Gear VR Apps
Herobound: Spirit Champion - ($9.99)
If you ever wanted to be a goblin, now is your chance. Herobound: First Steps is a third-person dungeon crawler where you play as the chosen warrior of the Spirit of Life on a mission to freefour captured spirits. During the course of your quest, you'll hack and slash through with the help of your trusty Bluetooth controller. While the action is pretty entertaining, we can't get over how cute the majority of the monsters are. Who knew that mini red-eyed skeletons could be so adorable? Gamepad required
Adventure Time: Magic Man's Head Games - ($4.99)
This latest title from Cartoon Network'spopular animated series pits heroes Finn and Jake against Magic Man, a known troublemaker in the Land of Ooo. Players are on a mission to reverse a curse on Tiny, the protagonists' newest friend, in this third-party platformer. You'll run, jump, fight and stretch your way through the colorful world in a 360-degree playground. Gamepad required
Anshar Wars 2 - ($14.99)
If you're looking for fast-paced first-person shooter action experience through the cockpit of a fighter ship in space, then you've come to the right place. The fight against the vicious Nergal continues, and it's up to you to repel wave after wave of enemy ships in Anshar Wars 2. Utilizing a totally hands-free control scheme, players can control their ship by a quick tilt of the head while firing off a myriad of weapons. It's not Star Wars, but we'll definitely take it. Gamepad optional
Drift ($15)
In most first-person shooters, you fire bullets; in Drift, you are the bullet. You zip around a virtual world, avoiding obstacles as you try and reach your target. The game's visuals are colorful and distinct, though you won't have much time to admire the view as you hurtle through space. We've only had a little hands-on time with Drift, but from what we can see, this bullet simulator is on the mark. Headset only
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes - ($9.99)
One of the first multiplayer VR games, Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes places you into a room with a procedurally generated time bomb. It's up to your friends in the real world, who can't see the bomb, to give you directions so you can defuse the bomb before time runs out. In a race against time, are your friendships and communication skills strong enough to survive? Headset only
Audio Arena ($4.99)
The rhythm is going to get you in Audio Arena, but not if you get it first. This musical battle game from Soundome Studios puts you in a 360-degree battle zone, with enemy dots appearing on the beat of the music. You wipe them out by swiveling your head to seize power-ups; grabbing those power-ups on the beat boosts your score. All those years of bopping your head along to music are finally going to pay off. Headset only
Arcade (Beta) - Free
Gamers nostalgic for the arcades of the '80 and '90's can scratch that itch in the Oculus Arcade. After choosing among the three partners — Midway, Sega and Namco Bandai — you'll be transported to a virtual arcade complete with old-school cabinets. Classic titles such as Gauntlet, Joust, Streets of Rage, Galaga, Sonic the Hedgehog and Altered Beast are waiting to take you back to the good-old days of 8- and 16-bit graphics. Gamepad required
Dreadhalls - ($4.99)
Gamers looking for a good scare should definitely check out Dreadhalls. In the game, set in a large dungeon, your job is to escape while surviving the myriad of dangers lurking in the dark. But don't worry; developer White Door Games was nice enough to equip you with a small lantern to help you make your way through. You get no weapons, just some lock picks and a small light. Yeah, good luck with that. Gamepad required
VR Karts: Sprint - ($4.99)
If you're a fan of Mario Kart, you'll enjoy VR Karts: Sprint. Similar to the Nintendo title, you can race down several tracks collecting power-ups and unleashing havoc on your opponents. But thanks to the immersive first-person perspective, levying an attack and roaring into first place is a bit more personal and so much more satisfying. Be warned: The rapid motion of navigating the track can make some drivers a little queasy, earning VR Karts its "comfortable for some" rating. Gamepad required
Bazaar - ($9.99)
For all those times you wanted to ride Carpet from Disney's Aladdin, there's Bazaar. Tasked with collecting stolen relics, you'll be navigating a magic carpet with your eyes. And if you get lost, just look to the skies and plot your course using the constellations. And if that wasn't cool enough, you'll be traipsing through a pastel-colored labyrinth, all while avoiding various booby traps, sea cobras and crocodiles. Headset only
The Samsung Gear VR is now available for $99. It's not a bad price, considering it is the very first virtual reality headset designed for mass consumption. But is virtual reality ready for the masses, and are the masses ready for virtual reality? The new Gear VR is actually the second version of the headset. The first version, which Samsung calls the Innovator Edition, is a developer version designed to attract app developers to build content for the platform before it comes out for the general public. If you have never tried out the developer version, as most consumers may not have, you might find the Gear VR unwieldy to set up, despite the changes Samsung made to the design. You'll need, first and foremost, the headset itself, one of Samsung's flagship smartphones, an ear-cupping headset (preferably wireless) for fully immersive sound, and a wireless gamepad. "The Gear VR wasn't easy to set up," says Anick Jesdanun of the Associated Press. "I had trouble figuring out where all the Velcro straps and hooks were supposed to go. I couldn't get the phone to snap into place. I needed the manual to find a lever I had to switch because I had a larger phone, the Note 5. Many consumers might need help from a tech-savvy friend or kid." For all the trouble you may go through, however, the Gear VR may still be worth it. As expected, the consumer-ready version features a lot of major improvements over the Innovator Edition. The very first thing you'll notice, if you've tried on the developer version, is how much lighter and more comfortable the Gear VR is. Specifically, the headset now weighs 0.64 pounds, compared to the full pound weight of the developer version. In fact, as Will Shanklin of Gizmag says, majority of the headset's weight actually comes from the phone that serves as the screen. It also now has a bit more padding and more room for people wearing eyeglasses. Unfortunately, as with all other VR headsets, the Gear VR is not without discomfort. Users can expect varying degrees of dizziness, motion sickness and nausea, depending on their tolerance. The problem comes from the discrepancy created between what your eyes see onscreen and what your brain expects to see. Samsung deals with this problem by incorporating more motion sensors into the headset and promises a 20-millisecond motion delay, but the problem is not completely eradicated. "After maybe 40 minutes of gaming, I noticed my forehead beginning to get sweaty from the heat of the screen, the bridge of my nose aching," says Ben Popper of The Verge. "VR is funny that way. I didn't find the headset too heavy, but its physical, visceral effects came at a cost. Each half-hour session left me with a slight headache and disorientation that bordered on nausea." Samsung and Oculus address this problem by including a comfort level indicator for each of the apps in the Oculus Store, with some apps labeled as "Comfortable for some" and "Comfortable for most." It's important that users deliberately adjust to their surroundings as they slip in and out of VR instead of fully jumping into the experience. "As far as what you can tolerate, take it easy," TechCrunch's Drew Olanoff says. "If you're made dizzy easily, just try something light out like a Netflix movie. Get used to blocking out everything that's around you for a little while. There's nobody judging you or anyone scoring you on how 'VR cool' you are." Speaking of apps, you will find a relatively huge variety of content from the Oculus Store. One of the early problems for virtual reality was the lack of content to make it truly consumer-ready, but the Oculus Store contains around a hundred apps and games as well as some 70 films from Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox. And while some of these may be the short, gimmicky trailers you'd expect from a new platform (you can watch Netflix and other films on a virtual TV screen on a virtual couch), several pieces of content showcase just how far into the future VR can take us. Land's End, for instance, is a Zen puzzle game that has you floating over a gorgeous beach setting while solving puzzles. Popper describes how it feels like to walk and float about in VR while part of your brain knows there's another kind of reality out there. "I knew the 'presence' it produced was strong when, standing on the edge of a cliff, I found myself unable to move my feet toward the edge — the lizard part of my brain insisting that the drop was real," he says. "Moving my feet wouldn't actually move me in VR space, there is no positional tracking, but I still couldn't do it." Partly, it's because the Gear VR is not yet so technologically advanced to provide a really immersive experience. For instance, most reviewers have mentioned a light flickering on the side of the screen that's caused by the relatively low resolution of the Galaxy smartphones. As standalone handsets, the S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+ and Note 5 have a phenomenal number of pixels, but as VR screens, they're only fair enough for the price. "You won't mistake what you see in there for reality — you can clearly make out pixels, like when you'd sit too close to an old tube TV," says Geoffrey A. Fowler of the Wall Street Journal. "Yet using the Gear VR for a week, I frequently found myself getting wrapped up in its virtual worlds, for longer and longer stretches." So, is it worth picking up the Gear VR at the nearest store where it is available? If you already have one of Samsung's flagship phones, it is definitely a must-have. And since it's a less-than-$100 addition to your smartphone, it shouldn't be too much of a burden on the pocket. However, non-Samsung users will have to shell out $99 plus at least $650 for the price of one of the Galaxy flagships. If you're considering spending several hundreds of dollars for a VR headset, you might want to consider waiting it out for the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive next year. Sure, they are going to cost so much more (since you'll need a powerful PC that'll at least cost $1,000), but they are also expected to offer so much more as well, including hand-tracking to allow you to interact with VR objects. Still, the Gear VR is certainly an important part of VR history, and it will be written down in the books as the first headset that launched accessible VR for the masses. "Gear VR reminds me of the Atari 2600, that affordable game console that brought Pac-Man home," says WSJ's Fowler. And the Oculus Rift is expected to be the SNES of VR.
Samsung Gear VR Review: The Future is Now
Virtual reality has always been one of the most elusive aspects of modern technology. We’ve had motion controllers that do a decent job of replicating things like tennis, and 3D TVs can make you feel like you’ve got snowballs flying at your face for a few minutes before your eyes hurt too much, but we’ve never really been able to tap into that true sense of immersion and presence of self that is required for actual virtual reality to work. That is, until now. I’m not going to waste time in this review boring you with the technical details about the device – you can look that up in the product details on your online retailer of choice’s website – but I will instead focus on what you need to know from a practical gamer’s perspective. How does it feel when you wear it? Is it easy to control? Are there any good games on it worth downloading or paying for? And most importantly, should you buy it? Well, the short answer to all of those questions is that the Samsung Gear VR is a beautiful device that I can hardly stop playing. Samsung and Oculus were smart when they designed this to be as consumer-friendly as possible because you don’t even really need to spend more than a minute or two in the instruction manual. Once you plug your phone into the front of the headset, it walks you through the entire setup process and even teaches you how to control everything. The right side of the headset has a touchpad for swiping, a back button for navigation, and volume toggles. Those controls, the wonderful display, and the motion-detection technology are all you need to get going with some great VR experiences. The Introduction to VR video, BluVR, some of the 360 photos, and the Battle for Avengers Tower are all great starting points for someone new to the device. Once you feel comfortable and don’t think you’re going to pass out, you can move on to some of the games like Smash Hit, the first Anshar Wars, and Temple Run VR – all of which can be played for free without a controller. Then once you get a compatible bluetooth controller and start dropping some cash on games, you can enjoy even more great stuff. And they’ve been doing a decent job of adding new games and experiences steadily over time. 
As someone that requires glasses to get farther than two steps from my bed every day, the Samsung Gear VR is actually incredibly versatile. For games that don’t require reading a lot of text, I found that zooming the focus wheel all the way in was sufficient to enjoy most games and videos. If I absolutely needed to wear my glasses however, the headset was just roomy enough for me to wear them, although I wouldn’t recommend it if you can at all avoid it. Scratching your glasses or the high-quality and delicate Gear VR’s lenses are very real concerns. The stock straps that come with the device could be better. The velcro isn’t the most resilient and they don’t do much in the way of improving the wearability of the headset. I have a comparatively large head, and it was difficult for me to get it to fit properly at times. And as someone that often gets a sweaty forehead, I can imagine the head padding being less than clean after a while. If you’re intrigued about the idea of smartphone-powered virtual reality, then you should get one of these headsets. If you want to experience cutting-edge technology from the comfort of your home, then you should get one of these headsets. If you’re unsure about whether or not the Samsung Gear VR is for you, then you should still get one of these headsets and realize your reservations are misplaced. If you get motion sickness easily, dislike amazing things, or genuinely aren’t interested in a more immersive way of consuming passive and interactive media, then sure, maybe don’t get one. But even then, at least find someone that has one and give it a try. 
With the release of the Samsung Gear VR headset, true virtual reality is not only a thing, but it’s widely available to the public – as long as you’ve got a compatible Samsung smartphone, of course. And it’s not a long list of compatible phones at this time, just the S6, S6 Edge, S6 Edge+, and Note 5. That’s it. But if you do have one of those phones, or are thinking about upgrading to one of those phones, then the Gear VR is an absolute no-brainer at only $100. Virtual reality is here, it’s beautiful, and it’s waiting for you to dive in head-first.
