Samsung is planning to continue its lead in the virtual reality space with its widely popular Gear VR headset. The Korean behemoth is adding to the list of features of this smartphone-powered headgear with a recent update for its Internet for Gear VR headset. The company is one of the first to release a stable version of a virtual browser, followed by the developer preview of Oculus’ Carmel browser.
This VR browser has been developed using the WebVR v1.0 standards which have been developed by engineers at Google and Mozilla. This is an experimental Javascript API to provide driving support for the web to virtual reality headsets. You can use this standard coupled with the recently introduced React libraries to develop native web-based apps for the virtual world. It enables you to view 3D images and stream VR content on the device from various angles with ease.
The Gear VR headset has now received an update for Internet — it’s WebVR-supported browser — to “give users greater control and a more immersive browsing experience.” The official blog post further mentions that the browser now enables users to surf the web, enjoy videos & scroll through photos on a large theater-like virtual screen right in front of your eyes. Due to seamless integration with its Galaxy S7 series, it will be able to provide a continuous experience for a web page or full-screen video open within Internet on Android. It adds support for 180 video content streaming on the web, including 3D VR support via YouTube.
In addition, Samsung is introducing two add-on features to enhance the virtual experience for Gear VR users. You now have the ability to customize the background of the VR space with premium images sourced from cloud graphics company OTOY These 360 background images, which are available in this collection, will further enhance the previously added Skybox feature to provide an even more realistic and immersive browsing experience.
The company has also integrated one of the most requested applications — File explorer — right into the virtual space. This will enable users to seamlessly browse through the content, images, and videos stored on their mobile device (or an additional USB OTG). Coupled with the availability an on-screen keyboard, voice support and Bluetooth integration, Samsung has further tried to elevate the browsing experience for the VR headgear. You’ve now been provided with the capability to connect your Gear S3 smartwatch, gamepads, speakers and other ad-hocs to the browser experience with this update.
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