When
a friend asks what you did over the weekend, you may soon say, “I stood
15 feet away from a dinosaur” — and you will not be bluffing.
That
is because the Gear VR, a virtual reality headset developed by Samsung
Electronics and Facebook’s Oculus VR, was released on Friday. The $100
device, which looks like a boxy pair of goggles, gives consumers an
early peek into the new immersive video technology that will begin stampeding into their homes next year.
The
Gear VR requires inserting a Samsung Galaxy smartphone into the
headgear: The device relies on the smartphone’s screen for video and its
computing brains for running apps and games. It is a precursor to the
more powerful Oculus Rift, a headset that connects with a personal
computer, which will make its debut next year. Other virtual reality
headsets coming next year include Microsoft’s HoloLens and Sony’s PlayStation VR.
For
an early stab at consumer virtual reality, the Gear VR is a work in
progress. The virtual reality experience is fascinating and the Gear VR
is probably unlike any consumer technology device you have owned before.
But in my testing of the device over a week, the video strained my eyes
and the extra weight on my head made my neck sore. This is an
entertainment device that is best taken in small doses, not used for
hours at a time.
To
wear the headset, which feels like cheap plastic, you attach two
adhesive straps, one horizontal and the other vertical. On the right
side of the device is a touch pad for swiping through menus or selecting
items — it takes time to get used to because you cannot see it while
wearing the headgear. A small wheel near your forehead adjusts the
focus. Even though I have 20-20 vision, the image always looked a little
blurry to me.
The
Gear VR runs software downloaded through a special app store that
serves only apps and games developed for virtual reality. I downloaded
the Jurassic World game, which takes place in the middle of a forest,
where you can gawk at an apatosaurus as it swings its long neck close to
you. The Milk VR app plays videos shot in virtual reality format,
allowing you to look up, down and around your surroundings — one video
puts viewers on a raft drifting through a river in the Grand Canyon.
My favorite virtual reality game was Land’s End.
It involves solving puzzles by staring at giant stones to lift and move
them. Here is where Gear VR shines: The head tracking, or the device’s
ability to follow where the viewer looks, is excellent in this game. Who
would have guessed that virtual reality would give you telekinesis
powers like Charles Xavier in “X-Men”?
Some
apps can be of questionable utility. Netflix’s virtual reality app lets
you watch the same videos you would normally stream through the
service, except it places you in a virtual living room on someone else’s
couch. Why watch Netflix with a headset? The only practical case I
could think of is if you are lying in bed at night and want to watch a
movie without shining a bright light in your partner’s face.
This
sounds thoughtful in theory, but watching an episode of “Futurama” made
my eyes feel as if I had been staring at a light bulb for an hour; it
also is not comfortable to lie in bed with a headset strapped to your
face.
Representatives
for Samsung and Oculus VR said my discomfort was probably caused by
inexperience with virtual reality. “Virtual reality is a new experience
for many, and there is a natural acclimation process,” the companies
said in a statement. “As you use VR more, it becomes more comfortable
for longer periods of time.” The companies also recommended using the
Gear VR while sitting in a swivel chair or standing.
Samsung
and Oculus are initially marketing the Gear VR to gamers. That is
logical given that many of the early software offerings in the virtual
reality app store are games. But the risk of this approach is that in
the long term, virtual reality may appeal largely just to gamers.
Microsoft, for instance, had hoped the Kinect, its motion-based gaming
accessory, would have broader appeal as a general computing device, but people quickly lost interest.
It
would be a shame to see virtual reality devices start with gamers and
end with gamers. As the technology improves and app developers figure
out innovative uses of the virtual reality environment, the technology
has potential for broader appeal. The dinosaur game was a glimpse into
how museums could take advantage of virtual reality, for instance. It is
even possible to imagine people in retirement homes enjoying the idea
of being taken to a different place.
I
suspect that Gear VR’s virtual reality experience will be seductive for
many because it is so fresh and different, but that it will not become a
regular activity because of the weaknesses of the headset. The
technology needs to lose some weight, and the video quality needs to be
clearer and easier on the eyes.
It
would also be ideal if the Gear VR worked with other types of
smartphones, not just the newest Samsung Galaxy devices. I would not
recommend buying a Samsung phone just to look at dinosaurs or lift giant
stones with your head. But the Gear VR would not be a bad holiday gift
for people who already have a Samsung phone.
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