Interested in using Gear VR without Oculus? Once a major innovation in 2017 from Samsung and Oculus, the Gear VR has seen diminished interest as both companies have remained quiet about it.
Samsung announced that its latest smartphones wouldn’t support Gear VR apps, suggesting a partnership impasse. This raises questions about current usage and the potential to use Gear VR independently from Oculus. This article delves into those topics.
What is the Samsung Gear VR, and What Can I Do With It?
Virtual reality was predicted to be one of the game chambers in the tech space. Like most big-name tech companies, Samsung was interested in a piece of this pie. In collaboration with Oculus, it designed and released the Gear VR.
The Samsung Gear VR is a virtual reality headset that provides users with a unique experience outside reality. Based on your purchased model, it had 90,101 and 360 degrees of spectacular viewing.
The headset allowed you to experience sports, games, and other forms of entertainment as if you were there in person. It also enables users to feel things and explore worlds they could only fantasize about. Looking at it from this angle, there was no surprise that the headset was in huge demand.
Since its introduction in 2014/2015 and until it was discontinued, the Samsung Gear VR has released six different editions. These versions include the Galaxy VR(SM-324), (SM-323), (SM-322), (SM-321), and (SM-320).
One disadvantage the Samsung VR had was the inability to pair the headset to incompatible phones. Therefore, to use any edition of the Samsung VR, you have to find out its compatibility with your Samsung phones carefully.
The Gear VR headset relies on a phone to act as a conduit for providing display and optics. This feature can be delivered by any supported and compatible Samsung Galaxy smartphone. The headset unit also has a remote to control the movement and action triggers.
How To Use the Samsung Gear VR
The Samsung Gear VR setup is quite simple. The first thing is to get your headset ready. You can do this by attaching the velcro headband to the length that would fit your head and would be comfortable for you to move around while you enjoy your 3D viewing.
The next thing you need to do is connect the VR to your smartphone. Lift the label at the front of the headset to insert your phone with the display positioned towards the lenses so you can view the picture.
After you insert your phone into the headset, you cannot make any further moves until you sign up for the Oculus. So, take it out of the VR casing and sign up (or sign in if you already have an account) to the Oculus by filling in some basic Facebook details.
After you sign up, you have to input dime basics settings like language choices. Pair the controller to the Oculus app you need to download onto your phone, and you’re good to go.
Remember to download and install the Gear VR app to enjoy and immerse yourself in the virtual experience fully. The app also grants you access to the games and other apps hosted on the Gear VR website.
How the Gear VR was Made
With the goldmine the VR market was predicted to be, it came as no surprise when Samsung announced its intention to create its unit in collaboration with Oculus.
The headsets were coded and designed by Oculus. Samsung was largely responsible for producing the hardware, providing the phone for the screen, marketing, and providing access to a large market.
The Oculus also handled the issue of payment, so while the Gear VR was being branded as Samsung production, it was quite clear which company was at the forefront.
It remains unknown if Samsung was ever allowed access to the software and creation blueprints of the headset or if the contract between the two companies gave sole creation power to Oculus.
Despite the hype and anticipation surrounding the Gear VR, the eventual release fell short of expectation and was largely underwhelming.
Many reviews detailed issues of how heavy the machine was or cases of overheating that could not be remedied by including a cooling system.
However, these issues were largely secondary and did not cause too much of a stir because the VR headset was basically free. Samsung gave it away through some special plan to buy an expensive Galaxy Samsung smartphone.
On top of that, Samsung’s top-notch marketing made people curious, and this curiosity led to most people purchasing Samsung phones and, by extension, the Gear VR to find out what all the hype was about.
What Happened to the Gear VR?
The marketing was largely successful, and Gear VR was a bestseller. It exposed users to unique virtual experiences from games, sports, movies, and other forms of entertainment. It was so widely popular that media houses still use it to stream their content. Galleries and museums used it to display and experience art. Even hospitals made use of it where they saw fit. The sky was no limit for the Gear VR with all these activities.
But for some reason, the two companies involved in creating this masterpiece avoided talking about it all of a sudden in 2017/2018. Even though there were no official discontinuation announcements, there were no more talks of future prospects.
The only indication users had of something brewing on the horizon was when Samsung released a statement. They announced that the Samsung Note 10 would not support the Gear VR.
Most people just assumed that the partner companies could not reach an agreement regarding the future of the VR headset. It would later turn out that the problem was much deeper than that.
In 2018, Oculus announced the release of its project, the ‘Oculus Go,’ which provided users with a more immersive experience without the additional weight of including a phone.
Even though Oculus kept trying to reassure the public that the Oculus Go was not in any way invented to overshadow the Gear VR, it was obvious that it had better chances of becoming a fan favorite.
It addresses the negatives and simplifies the systems process that was a major source of complaints about the Gear headset. It also grants access to the same games and apps supported by the Gear VR.
Is the Gear VR Obsolete
The Gear VR soon became a thing of the past with more focus on the Oculus Go, and both companies were hesitant to bring it up. Eventually, Samsung released an announcement stating that future smartphones would no longer support the Gear VR as it had reached the end of its service. All videos and apps relating to the VR headset would be discontinued.
The invention of the Oculus Go wouldn’t have greatly affected the progress of the Gear VR if Samsung had been more involved with the creative process beyond hardware manufacturing and providing user access.
If Samsung had the code and software blueprint, they had enough resources on hand to continue with the Gear VR project without Oculus, subject to the terms of their agreement. It remains unclear if Samsung could have successfully recreated the project independently or were even willing to.
We can safely conclude that the Samsung Gear VR has indeed become obsolete from all this. It’s no longer in demand like it used to be, and the partner companies have expressed no intention of restarting the project anytime soon.
Can You Still Use Gear VR in 2024?
Even with the discontinuation of the Gear VR, you can still enjoy its features in 2024. You can download games, videos, and access other components with no trouble at all
Just because Samsung discontinued future models doesn’t mean they pulled the plug on the older versions or the whole project altogether. Users can enjoy the existing editions of the Gear VR well into the future.
The only issue that arises out of the discontinuation is that newer Samsung models do not support the Gear VR.
This means that if you buy an old model Samsung smartphone-like, say, the Samsung Galaxy 6, which was compatible with the Gear VR unit, you’d still have full access to the features and app offered on the unit. But if you purchase a newer Samsung model, this probably would not be possible.
Also, you can only access already existing and downloaded apps, games, and features because recent downloads after April 1, 2020, would not be allowed. There will also not be new functions to access, and some pre-existing ones will probably shut down.
So, while you can probably still use and enjoy the features that come with the Gear VR, your access will be limited. You will not be able to gain access to all of its pre-existing apps and elements.
You can still use a Gear VR if you still have a Gear VR after its discontinuation. However, if you intend on getting a new Gear VR, it would be advisable to save yourself the trouble. You can, however, choose to get another VR box like the Oculus Go.
Can You Use Gear VR Without Oculus?
After setting up your phone, the only way to connect to the Gear VR is to sign up or sign in to Oculus.
After you put your phone into the casing of the headset, it automatically takes you to the Oculus sign-up page. Here, you can sign in to your Facebook account before you can enjoy the 3D experience.
This process becomes annoying pretty fast when you have to go through it every time you need to gain access to the VR headset.
The good news is there’s a way to access and control the headset without signing in to Oculus every single time. You can do this by following these steps:
- Install Sideload VR and follow the setup wizard’s instructions to get it running on your phone.
- Go to settings, then to Application Manager, and finally to Gear VR service.
- Click on manage storage and select the VR service version to enable developer mode.
- Click on developer mode to gain access.
Now you can use the Gear VR without going through Oculus to gain access.
Note that the process for setting up and navigating Sideload VR might not be as straightforward as it seems. You might have to go through several attempts to set it up successfully in most cases. But keep at it, and it’ll work for you eventually.
Conclusion
The Gear VR has come a long way from its successful run. It was one of the most talked-about and sought-after VR headsets of its time. Now, the companies have discontinued most of their services.
The headset doesn’t have as much access to the level of games, apps, and entertainment you could once access. But it still works, especially with a compatible phone.
If you head to the Oculus website, you can find some apps and games still displaying on the Gear VR. Some of the apps include YouTube and Netflix. These are just the ones in the free sections.
We probably won’t have a resurrection of the Gear VR anytime soon. You can, however, enjoy the remaining features it has while it still exists. So don’t retire your headset just yet.
