The Gear VR is probably the greatest thing Samsung has created in a long time. The simple but well-made virtual reality headset blows minds young and old. I have personally shown it to a number of people, and so far I have yet to come across anyone whose jaw didn’t drop. It’s awesome.
And it looks like Samsung’s biggest competitor may be getting ready to launch a rival device.
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Samsung teamed up with virtual reality leader Oculus to create the Gear VR accessory, which uses a Galaxy Note 4 as a snap-in display in front of two lenses that help create the VR effect. The result is truly fantastic.
Here’s a great video of people experiencing the Gear VR for the first time.
And here’s an even better video of BGR founder Jonathan Geller’s father experiencing Gear VR for the first time.
With all of the buzz surrounding virtual reality right now as companies like Oculus, Sony and Samsung gear up for the next big thing, it looks like Apple is also planning to throw its hat into the VR ring at some point.
A handful of patents were recently uncovered that proved Apple was at least thinking about VR, and now some new job listings discovered by 9to5Mac suggest Apple’s VR plans are getting pretty serious.
Apple is looking to hire a Senior Display Systems Engineer who will focus on “display systems design and development related to VR environments.” Here are some key responsibilities the new hire will be tasked with:
-Specify and test novel display systems for virtual environments.
-Work with vendors to develop custom display solutions.
-Design and select appropriate hardware and software components to optimize fidelity in a variety of VR environments
-Develop software to support displaying rendered image sequences on the display hardware.
-Work closely with software, electrical and mechanical engineers during testing and integration.
There’s obviously no telling if or when Apple will release its first VR device, and it wouldn’t be the first time the company followed a rival’s lead and entered a new space a bit later than others.
The iPhone 6 Plus is a great example of Apple’s ability to lead while following. And as we’re about to see with the Apple Watch, the company often tries to launch the right product, not the first product.
