Just one day after Samsung announced the debut date of its Galaxy S7 smartphone, there are new rumblings that the company will also release a long-rumored virtual reality camera.
Samsung may have offered some hint as to its VR intentions later this month via its promotion for the Feb. 21 unveiling of the S7.
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Although that announcement was focused on the next iteration of the company’s flagship smartphone, the teaser video on Sunday included Samsung’s Gear VR device prominently displayed as part of the brief visual.
Rethink what a phone can do. February 21. #TheNextGalaxyhttps://t.co/oCVxCmiwO8— Samsung Mobile (@SamsungMobile) February 1, 2016
The new device will be called the Gear 360, according to a report from SamMobile, and will house two 180-degree fisheye lenses.
Additional features included in the Gear 360, according to the report, are an internal battery, wireless Bluetooth connectively, a Gear 360 app (which will include a gallery and time lapse feature), internal memory for video and images and the ability to switch between 180-degree and 360-degree panoramic recording.
The first hints of Samsung's plans to possibly introduce a commercial VR camera came back in 2014, when the company revealed its Project Beyond device, a 360-degree view camera specifically designed to create content for the Gear VR.
Samsung hasn’t confirmed the “Gear 360” name, nor has it revealed any photos of a new device, but if the report turns out to be true, the Project Beyond design (shown in this report) would likely make a very consumer-friendly first-generation product.
The new VR camera is expected to debut on the same day as the new S7 at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain.