Samsung has been working on its virtual reality platform for some time, with the device finally unveiled at its Unpacked event this September. In early September, Oculus announced that it’s been collaborating with Samsung on a prototype version of the device for developers called the Gear VR Innovator Edition.
Oculus, which is owned by Facebook, said that the project began as an experiment to see if it was possible to bring VR to next-generation mobile hardware and that the team ‘blew everyone away’ in a short amount of time. The Gear VR Innovator Edition was the result; an early access beta-version of Samsung’s device for developers that requires a Galaxy Note 4.
Now, the company has announced its ‘Oculus Platform’ store where developers will be able to make available their virtual reality apps and media, starting this fall on the Samsung Gear VR. Oculus plans on making its platform available across browsers, native mobile apps and inside the VR experience itself.
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Oculus will debut some of its newer apps on the platform, including Oculus Cinema and Oculus 360 Photos and videos where users can watch media in virtual reality. The platform is planned as a launcher for the devices for users to jump into games or content easily.
The Gear VR Innovator Edition will be available to developers starting in the fall and the Mobile SDK will be publicly available on the Oculus Developer Center before the end of October. We went hands on with the Gear VR back when it was announced and thought it was pretty good but mostly a novelty.
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