Customer Ratings & Reviews

It's amazing, the quality and the control is so comfortable. The view is amazing in the games, movies etc.

Samsung GearVR with Controller is the latest duo of VR headset that uses the mobile technology to garner you access to the world of VR. How does this compared to the tethered counterparts like Oculus Rift or HTC Vive? There are split reactions, mine will be solely on the GearVR uses and GTK (good-to-know) Tid-Bits since other review focuses on the technical and comparable specifications. WHAT TO EXPECT: The streamlined packaging allows you direct access to the GearVR headset and the Controller (requires (2) AAA batteries). The Controller will need to be paired via Bluetooth to your headset (more on this later). Instructions are simple and the GearVR headset is available for use right out of the box because there is no 'charging' involved. The battery source is from the mobile itself so make sure your phone is well-charged. It may be good to mention this GearVR headset works only with Samsung (hence, it's a Samsung GearVR). I've used it with Samsung S7 Edge and the S8+. BOTH of the phones will require you to download the Oculus APP to use. Once you remove the plastic 'cover' from the front part of the GearVR, you will notice the phone port on the right side and a 'spring clasp' mechanism on the left. With the S7 Edge, you will need to use a microUSB attachment (which, by the way, is included in the package - AWESOME). Out of the box, the GearVR headset already has the USB Type-C port attachment (good for Samsung S8+) so changing the attachment out is a bit tricky but once you get it, it's pretty logical. The 'spring clasp' on the left side of the GearVR is adjustable to fit both the S7 Edge and the S8+ snuggly. From the other reviews, it looks like there will be no issues using with Note8 or the S8; but it looks like the GearVR will not work with J7. GTK #1: SIT. DOWN. PLEASE! Can't emphasize enough the danger in thinking you will 'walk' around in your VR. You can loose track of where you are standing, what's in front of you or underneath you. Last thing is for you to turn around only to hit a wall - and your nose, by the way, as it is the impact point of a side hit - so be sure to find a comfortable, 'safe' place to move your upper body around. Sofa seems to work the best, Beds... well, you can easily roll off so a word of caution on that! HEADSET: Black, solid quality plastic-body with two head strap adjustments and it makes a LOT of sense to have the one going above your head for support to carry off the weight of the mobile phone, Pretty comfortable, especially around the eyes where the padding snuggly fits to block out the ambient light. It can feel a bit front-heavy due to the mobile so be aware of you dropping your head down as it may happen faster. GTK #2: If you are generally a 'Hot' person - well, you can define that whichever way you'd like but we're talking about body temperature in this instance - your GearVR may 'fog' as it does retain heat. You can wipe down but the best solution so far seems to be to have a portable fan near by blowing on your face. This is actually for you to cool down so if there are other ways, do that as it does become a nuisance if you're in a VR Chat and people can all hear the rotating fan sound. Tid-Bit: One thing to look out for is the temperature from the Phone can also be alarming as it can get quite 'Hot' to touch but it seems to depend particular Oculus Apps. For example, the temperature may be higher if you're playing a rollercoaster game vs. a chat or Facebook360. No worries, though - the Samsung mobiles have a temperature gage so rest assured it will not become dangerously overheated. CONTROLLER: You do need to PAIR this via Bluetooth before it can be used and this may take several seconds, depending on the phone. There is also a 'touchpad' function available on the right temple area of the GearVR that is useful, especially if you don't have a Controller (or lost contact with it, which does happen!). All functions available on the Controller can be accessible in this manner as well. The Controller set-up is pretty simple, follow the instruction BEFORE you put your GearVR on. GTK #3: The Controller can disconnect unexpectedly from the mobile phone, which can disrupt whatever you are doing. In most cases, you would need to re-PAIR it via Bluetooth - notification seems to pop up that the Controller is available and you can use also the 'Home' button to reset the Bluetooth. However, if the Controller seem to 'loose control' (the pointer vibrates on screen or does not seem to point in the right place), one of two things can be done: If it doesn't seem to point in the right place, press the 'Home' button until you see the spinning Controller on your screen - keep it steady - and it will reset the pointer center. If the pointer seem to skip from here to there, it actually may be your BATTERY (it does seem to run out sooner than later!) CHARGING: There is a review that says you can 'charge' your phone while you use the GearVR. Actually, there is a port available on the right lower side of the GearVR; however, this port is so that you can connect your headset to the USB Type-C port (provided in the package) SO that it does not use your phone's battery. It does NOT charge your phone. SOUND: You can hear sounds without a headset but in certain places - like VR Chats - you are required to have a headset. You can use BOTH the wired and wireless - the wireless headset must be also paired via Bluetooth (yes, possible to have both the wireless headset and the Controller connected at the same time!). VISION: OK, the first few times you use the GearVR set, you will notice some changes to your vision. There is a rotary wheel on the front part of the GearVR that adjust the depth and clarity of your vision within VR. If you use glasses, it may be a good idea to use the GearVR without your glasses (yes it is possible to adjust your vision this way!). Same goes for the contact lens users. For those with 20/20 or better, lucky you! At first few times you may feel dizzy and even nauseous. Also your vision may feel dimmed after removing your GearVR. Brightness can be adjusted in the settings function within GearVR. It's NOT a good idea to have the brightness on full high as it will affect your eyes. GTK #4: SERIOUSLY consider NOT eating right before the GearVR experience especially if you're going to 'ride' the rollercoaster. It's trippy how your mind actually will make you feel like you're spinning, hence your body will feel nauseous!). MOBILE USAGE: YES, it will eat up your battery. YES, you can see notifications as you're using your GearVR. YES, you can actually use your phones if you have the correct App. There are many things you can explorer with the Samsung GearVR + your Samsung Mobile phone, however you do need to download the right Apps. Samsung has this pre-programmed to help you download - one of two you will definitely is Oculus and the SamsungVR. All other Apps you can download using those two to start. IMPROVEMENTS: Samsung GearVR is a Mobile-based VR system so unlike the tethered kind like Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, it has its limitations. For example, the graphics is not as crystal clear as the tethered kind - this may also be because you have a screen protector that is not 'clear' so keep that in mind. Some of the colors available may not translate into the MobileVR so you may not get the full color experience in some of the VR Apps. Also for GearVR, there is not peripherals available from Samsung yet, like the hand tracking movement. The Controller can give you SOME functions but you won't have the full hands-on experience. Hopefully as the VR world is popularizing, they are developing this option soon! There you have it! As more usage and experience comes with the GearVR, there may be more GTK or Tid-Bits to add to the review. This is based on first-hand experience using the GearVR for about 6 week weeks.

When I had my Note 4, my husband bought me a generic pair of VR glasses because they didn't have anything for my Note 4 as the phone had become obsolete in a sense. I have a new phone now and I bought the VR glasses to use. I love them. It is so cool to be immersed into the world of VR. This is the best experience I have ever had. The only thing that I don't like about it is that you can't keep them on for a long time as you start to become dizzy and your eyes and head become heavy.

I don't have service with a Samsung Phone but I did want a VR experience and looking into some systems with computers I was looking at a few grand. I was weighing a couple of options and dismissed it. I found it in BestBuy one day purely by accident, The price was perfect. I used my brothers old Samsung S6 on wifi with no service, I was able to download the app and get set up right away. I cannot base it on whatever else is out there but I can tell you for a little more than a 100.00 you get a great introductory to VR. There are many VR games for free and some are small fees through PayPal, I highly Recommend .

The Gear VR (along with the Galaxy S8) was my first virtual reality experience, and I didn't want to get my hopes up. However, it's a lot better than I expected. Once you get things working, figure out your focus, etc., it's really fun to play with, and hours can go by really fast. I haven't had problems with my S8 overheating with this, unlike problems I think others have had historically. The only real downsides are generic, and not unique to this setup. There can be some VR sickness with the way some things can move. Watch out for things like simulated rollercoasters. And though there's probably more content than I expected, especially if you're willing to pay, at the same time there's a huge amount of room for growth with VR in general. Anyway, it's a lot of fun, and I'll never watch things like 3D movies again anywhere else. There's no point. If you have a recent phone that can handle this (like the S8), I'd consider it a must-have.

I bought this when I bought my new phone(S8). I had the gear for the S6 but was unable to play it as it always overheated. This headset is pretty similar to the other one as it's your phone that does all the work. Only thing is, is that the S8 will NOT work on the older gears, but this gear comes with an adapter so you can use the S6, and S7 with it. Worth the money if your into vr and don't have the money or a super cpu for the higher end models! The controller in my eyes is a must. It really adds to the feel of the games and make navigating real easy.

Works well with galaxy S7, S8, S9 and S10. I could enjoy VR movie and view all other VR content without a long wire from a PC. But the picture quality is not as good and the phone becomes really warm. VR contain may drain your battery very fast.

If you are thinking about getting a VR headset but don't want to pay $400+ on it this is definitely a great starting point. I will say the only bad things are that there is only 1 remote so it's not too interactive, your phone does get super hot so you cannot play for long periods of time. And the games are limited but there are definite gems in there.

A little more comfortable than last year. The controller makes all the difference. The amount of the programs keeps getting larger. If you already have a unit just by the controller separate. If you are new to the Samsung Galaxy phone(s) then this is the unit to get.

I really like the Netflix option on this VR. It gives you the opportunity to watch a Huge screen while laying in bed relaxing....use ear buds for best quality. I think this is expensive for what it is though. It is cool but still really just a gimmick.

The headset fits great and doesn't feel uncomfortableat all. The controller is a great addition instead of using the pad on the side of the headset

The Gear VR is currently not working with Unlocked galaxy S8 or S7 phones, only with carrier locked phones. This is a known issue for us customers and it's been going on since last years Unlocked Galaxy S7 without resolution, but somehow Samsung phone and chat support claims they don't know about it, although on the Samsung forums they claim they are now aware of it and working to resolve it, as of last Friday (6-2-2017) When you connect an unlocked S8 to the Gear VR, you get a voice command to disconnect the phone and follow instructions to download the Gear VR App, but when clicking next on the screen to download the app you get an error message: "Network Error occurred. Try again". No of Samsung and user troubleshooting is able to fix this issue, all points to Samsung Servers only allowing carrier locked S8's to download the VR apps, hence the network error message for everyone with an unlocked phone and the other carrier locked phones working. If you are looking to buy an unlocked galaxy phone to do VR, don't even bother, you get 0 support from Samsung and the works customer service ever from a tech company that sells a non operational device and after a week of the S8 release, Gear VR is still not working without ETA for resolution. Some have never been able to use it since getting an unlocked Galaxy S7, unbelievable! I'm returning my Galaxy S8, the Gear VR and the Gear 360, over 1000 Dollars worth of half working product. Going back to Apple...

This is a great VR for this price. It does everything it says it does and there are lots of games and movies to keep you entertained. Overall im happy with this product.

We thoroughly enjoy the headset. It is well made and fits my S8 phone and all of the heads in our family properly. The touchpad and buttons on the headset respond quickly, as well as, the hand controller. Not all of the apps support the hand controller, but that isn't too big of a deal. It took a long time to download the apps and necessary files for the apps. Using the headset requires a lot of power, so the phone will need to have a good charge before starting a session. Plus the phone will be very warm when you are on it for more than 20 minutes, or so.

I love my item , but my phone do over heat. Also your eyes get tired after about 30 minutes

I have had all the versions of the Gear VR. This one is perfect. The older versions I had tons of issues with fogging on the lens, this doesnt have it. I also hated not having a remote / controller. So the addition of that remote is perfect. One concern I had was all the press photos I saw it didnt have the strap that went across the top of your head. I was really upset that strap was removed since that has to do with the weight resting on your head. Well I gambled and bought it anyway. Well even though that strap is not shown in the photos or most press things it is included.

Gear VR is a unique experience with tons of free and paid apps. The controller feels great in your hand and works really well.

The VR thing wasn't on my wish list by far. But then I bought the Galaxy S8. This thing was on sale one day so I said why not. I'm so glad I took the plunge! The level of immersion is pretty incredible. The library of apps is beyond what I expected as far as variety of different experiences go. There are games, 360 videos and movies. You can watch Netflix on a huge screen in a pretty slick looking living room. It's just awesome. Just buy it. Don't even think about it like I did.

I like the feel as compared to the previous model. The controller is great. Can play so many more games

The headset works great. However, with my Galaxy S6, I can only use it for about 15-20 minutes before my phone begins to overheat. Once that happens there are lag problems, and I have to wait half an hour before I can get another 15 minutes of play in. With the S7, performance is improved, and I don't have the overheating problem.