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Prediction: Mobile VR will blow up long before Oculus Rift

Godselite2
Honored Guest
I posted this in Oculus subreddit but wanted to share it here as well.

With over 285 million smartphones shipped worldwide this year alone and with Samsung leading the market with a 31% market share, it becomes clear that the Samsung and Oculus partnership is about to get really interesting for VR.

I am not sure of the terms of the Samsung/Oculus partnership but since the Gear VR is going to be using Oculus software and mobile SDK, it would be safe to assume that Oculus is going to get licening of some sort. This translates to immediate income for Oculus but more importantly this the "CV 1/2" in a sense because this is going to the consumer world's first major introduction to VR.

My prediction is that Samsung's Gear VR is going to kick ass. It is going to come with the VR cinema ap that was designed by Oculus and a few other awesome aps that will really blow people away. The HMD will serve as primarily a media viewing device but will quickly become used more and more for other things as the mobile SDK ships and more and more developers produce awesome content.

John Carmack's work with the Mobile SDK will really push the boundaries of what anyone thought was possible on a mobile device and I think we are really in for a treat when it ships. Because so many people already have Smartphones, and all you have to do is buy the Gear VR, 'snap' in your smartphone and have a wireless HMD, it will catch on much quicker than if the Oculus Rift were to ship tomorrow. Main reason being is that most Joe blow consumers are not going to shell out $2,000+ for a high end PC and the Rift Headset. Not at launch and not in the short term anyway. Hardcore gamers will flock to buy the CV1 but it will take much longer for others to adopt it because of the money.

This is where Gear VR comes in. We don't know the price yet but I predict it will be around $75-100 (and Smartphone of coarse) to get the average consumer to experience VR. And this is what Gear VR is, the world's first Virtual Reality HMD!

I believe the Oculus Rift will ship at the end of 2015 or early 2016 in order to allow GPU's to catch up and drop in price to help drive sales and in order to run the 1440P, 90hz that is needed for a great experience.

By that time, the Gear VR will be in the hands of possibly millions of consumers and we could possibly see Apple get into the game. I believe we will see Virtual Reality blow up next year, long before the CV1 even ships. This is a very good thing for VR in general IF, and I say IF Samsung hits the mark. And I believe they will because of the Oculus Software that will be driving it.

I predict that Oculus will soon become the Andriod of VR. They will become THE Platform for VR across multiple HMD manufacters. Get ready to see a 'Powered by Oculus' or an Oculus logo on the Gear VR when it ships.

This is exciting because we are about to experience what Oculus has been working on through a Samsung device! Not as exciting as when the CV1 will launch but still exciting.

What do you think?

Sources:

Samsung Market share information and Global smartphone sales https://bgr.com/2014/08/22/samsung-gear-vr-leaked-photos/

Gear VR latest images and article https://bgr.com/2014/08/22/samsung-gear-vr-leaked-photos/
4 REPLIES 4

pixel67
Explorer
I think you are spot on! There will be many avenues for VR and this is a way to get it accessible quickly, but only if they get it right and make it stupid simple...

Godselite2
Honored Guest
"pixel67" wrote:
I think you are spot on! There will be many avenues for VR and this is a way to get it accessible quickly, but only if they get it right and make it stupid simple...


It is genius if you think about it. A smartphone has everything you need already built in. OLED panel(S5), gyroscope, accerlerometer and processor. It just needed to headset with powerful lenses and software. And most importantly it is wireless! This is a huge win for the smartphone market and VR. I think people are going to be impressed with it once it launches.

mscanfp
Honored Guest
Serious question. What separates Samsung gear from Google cardboard?
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Godselite2
Honored Guest
"mscanfp" wrote:
Serious question. What separates Samsung gear from Google cardboard?


I would assume superior lenses and superior software. Also superior input. I have tried the cardboard and was actually quite impressed with what something so simply could accomplish. Now add higher qaulity lenses, software and comfort and you will probably have a pretty great VR experience.

Iribe, Palmer and Nate have all said that they were amazed with what Carmack has been able to do with Mobile. So the real power is the software.