Is Gear VR worth it?

[zao9311]

Friends, I tried on a great vr last month in bestbuy and has since fell in love with it. But I am an iPhone user and just got my new iPhone, before I know about the gear vr. So I am obviously not anywhere near my phone upgrade time. I see some Galaxy s6 on eBay for 300 some bucks and was going to buy a s6 just for the gear vr and maybe use it as a second phone as well. Is it worth it? Or is there any good alternatives for iPhone? I'm just really bummed out that oculus didn't make one for iPhone, I order a Merge VR on Amazon. But am pretty sure it's not as good as oculus. So my question is... Is Gear VR worth it for me to get a galaxy s6?

[GGresham]

I've done some work projects in VR, and it got me a sit-down with the President of the company. So in career terms, totally worth it.

I've also developed an addiction to Smash Hit, and it's been great fun with friends. And if you use Gear VR in a restaurant, a conversation with always develop.

g

[Anonymous]

And don't forget Oculus Social Alpha, priceless to sit in a room with four other guys and talking while watching some movie... 😄

[goettel]

I was lucky that looking for a new phone coincided with the release of the Gear, so I got an S6 to go with it. Had I another pricey phone, I certainly wouldn't drop $300 on an S6 to get in now, months before the Vive and Rift CV1 will drop.

One of the reasons I wanted to add a Gear was for ease of demoing VR. For that, it's been stellar: the short setup time, plus the fact of the thing just working (like an actual consumer product) made it that I demo'd it to more people in a week than I did in the last three years with the Rifts. And it's certainly a great experience in its own right - if, again, you have the phone for it.

So in short: if I were you, I wouldn't get it. Great though it might be, the lack of positional tracking alone makes it a lesser alternative.

[zao9311]

"goettel" wrote:
I was lucky that looking for a new phone coincided with the release of the Gear, so I got an S6 to go with it. Had I another pricey phone, I certainly wouldn't drop $300 on an S6 to get in now, months before the Vive and Rift CV1 will drop.

One of the reasons I wanted to add a Gear was for ease of demoing VR. For that, it's been stellar: the short setup time, plus the fact of the thing just working (like an actual consumer product) made it that I demo'd it to more people in a week than I did in the last three years with the Rifts. And it's certainly a great experience in its own right - if, again, you have the phone for it.

So in short: if I were you, I wouldn't get it. Great though it might be, the lack of positional tracking alone makes it a lesser alternative.

You have some excellent points, i think I'm going to get both the gear vr and vive, I simply just can't wait for a new technology. I read a lot into it, seems that vive is going to be more advanced than rift. But of course I'm pre ordering it with my tax return lol

[zao9311]

"pvt7000" wrote:
And don't forget Oculus Social Alpha, priceless to sit in a room with four other guys and talking while watching some movie... 😄

I read about that as well, seems fun, especially with the masks and watch virtual movies and videos.

[jayhost]

Here are some reasons why the Gear VR is "worth" it.

Some people are paying $500 for the Rift DK2.

You can get a used s6 for $300-400 and then the headset is $100 accessory or a payment plan through At&T etc.

The GearVr is really cool.

My favorite things are Oculus Social and Netflix. Laying down you can resize netflix screen to look like a "50 tv while laying on your back. That's cool.

Is it worth it? Compared to anything else the answer is YES (Xbox, ipad). For someone who is struggling to pay rent or buy food then no.

Consumerism is not healthy in this country. Don't buy stuff for the sake of buying stuff.

If you can sell your current phone, get Prepaid service and an S6 you can't really complain.

I use it on Wifi only Sprint phone. I pop into Oculus Social as username: Jayhost

They're really not screwing anyone over with the price point. I think they made it affordable because they really want people to be able to enjoy this stuff. If Apple made the same product they would charge $500 and tell you it's the most revolutionary thing since consciousness (Actual Reality).

[muglore]

I wasn't sure if I would really use the Gear that much, considering that I a happy with my DK2. Now that I have one, I love it a use it almost every day. The ability to play games, watch movies, and even stream video from web pages to watch live sports makes it a must have device. I can't imagine how the experience could be much better (positional tracking?), but if there are ever any updates to the hardware in the future I will be a day one buyer.