Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Samsung-Oculus Consumer Virtual Reality Headset to Cost $99

The news from Facebook’s virtual reality conference, Oculus Connect.

Oculus and Samsung’s co-developed virtual reality headset will cost $99 when it ships in November, Samsung SVP Peter Koo said today at Facebook’s VR developer conference, Oculus Connect.

The new, consumer-minded edition of the Samsung Gear VR is lighter and more comfortable, Koo said, and will be compatible with four high-end Samsung smartphones: The Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6 Edge+, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. A previous version of the headset intended for software developers and early adopters cost $200 and worked with the Note 4 and Galaxy S6.

The phone powers the virtual reality experience, while the headset is worn like a pair of goggles. Each of those phones costs about $550 to $780 if purchased unlocked without a carrier plan.

Koo noted that the headset will be out in time for Black Friday.

Samsung and Oculus have been working together on virtual reality for two years, Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe said.

Oculus also teased some new VR content and partnerships, including a virtual video game arcade and apps from several major media companies, such as Netflix, Hulu, Vimeo and Twitch. While these apps won’t feature content like the 360-degree videos recently launched for Facebook, they’ll simulate being in a space like a living room or movie theater while watching content on a 2-D screen.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh