At Samsung’s developer conference today, Injong Rhee, the company’s head of research and development confirmed that Samsung was indeed working on a standalone headset to rival that of Oculus and Vive.
The new headset would offer positional tracking like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, which addresses one of the real concerns with the cheaper, phone-based Gear VR solution.
Additionally, Rhee wants to explore ways to provide a wireless alternative that would leave users able to move freely and untethered to existing hardware — a real drawback with the Oculus — as well as hand and gesture tracking, though that could still be a ways off.
Eventually, Samsung hopes for a ‘holodeck’ experience with motion tracking, a (possibly) cordless and un-tethered VR headset and a full range of touch controls. If Samsung can beat HTC and Oculus to a fully wireless headset, it could be a real game changer for Samsung as it attempts to gain ground in the fledgling headset market.
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