BARCELONA -- Samsung is so serious about accelerating VR's reach, it's giving away a free Gear VR (worth $100) to customers who pre-order its new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge in the U.S.
Samsung announced the sweet deal at the Mobile World Congress on Sunday. Pre-orders for the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge start on Feb. 23 in the U.S.
The two new phones will be available in the U.S. on all of the major carriers -- Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and U.S. Cellular -- on March 11. Pricing for the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge vary slightly depending on each carrier, but will cost in the ballpark of about $670 and $780, respectively.
Galaxy s7 hits stores o March 11. Preorders start in days. In the US you get $100 gear VR for FREE if you preorder— Raymond Wong (@raywongy) February 21, 2016
With Gear VR, users can immerse themselves in the world of virtual reality simply by inserting a compatible Samsung smartphone into the headset.
The latest Gear VR improves on its original model in a few significant ways. It's lighter, has a built-in fan to keep it cool, a refined touchpad and fits more smartphones (Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, Note 5, S6 Edge+, S7 and S7 Edge). At $100, it's also very affordable compared to more high-performance VR headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, which cost $600 and $800, respectively, and require a very powerful (and often expensive) PC to use.
The Gear VR is made by Samsung, but the software is designed in partnership with Oculus VR, which means that the device has access to a wealth of VR games and content from premier developers and content creators.
Zuckerberg: Samsung is the only company that can deliver the best mobile VR experience because of its oled screens pic.twitter.com/D9QpRvT5Hd— Raymond Wong (@raywongy) February 21, 2016
At its Mobile World Congress press conference, Samsung trotted out Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on stage to talk up the Gear VR and how it's paving a path for VR to become the next major computing platform.
More than 1 million hours of video watched in gear VR says zuckerberg— Raymond Wong (@raywongy) February 21, 2016
New Facebook team assembled to build social VR apps says zuckerberg pic.twitter.com/BDJSihjn6n— Raymond Wong (@raywongy) February 21, 2016
By giving away a Gear VR to pre-orderers, Samsung is making a play to not only get people to buy its new Galaxy phones, but also give them a taste of what VR has to offer.
While Samsung didn't say it outright, Zuckerberg's remarks about how aligned the two companies are in regards to their VR vision suggests that the free Gear VR is being offered as a sort of gateway drug to get users hooked on VR. Once hooked, the free VR goodies could lead consumers to later buy the more powerful and expensive Oculus Rift.
BONUS - First look: Samsung Gear 360 consumer VR camera
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