At long last, Samsung is finally making available the last piece of its virtual reality puzzle. First revealed at MWC 2016, the Gear 360 camera is now finally ready to make its US market launch. But not before stopping by at VidCon in Anaheim, California, where it is also putting out the call for Samsung Creators to showcase their talent and tell their stories on the rebranded Samsung VR hub. With the Gear VR headset, the Gear 360 camera, and the Samsung VR site, Samsung is offering what it boasts is the first end-to-end VR ecosystem for not only viewing but also creating immersive, captivating content.
Although the Gear VR has been in the market for quite some time, it was only last February that Samsung revealed its consumer-ready 360-degree camera. Aptly named the Gear 360, it was everything the formerly revealed Project Beyond camera was not. It was small, portable, stylish, and usable. And now, it’s actually buyable. At least if you have the funds for it. It shouldn’t be a bit of a surprise that Samsung is pricing it at $349.99, as it is really a decent digital camera, but it still might discourage some from chipping in, considering you might also have to invest in a Gear VR headset ($100) and a high-end Samsung Galaxy smartphone ($700) to make it matter.
But while it does finally make its US debut today, the Gear 360 won’t actually be available to the masses just yet. That will come later at a still to be revealed date. It will, however, be available in limited way to the attendees of the 2016 VidCon in California. And that isn’t a coincidence, of course. Samsung is putting out a call to content creators to put their creativity to work in crafting stories and content using the new VR tools that Samsung has launched. It is also launching the Samsung Creators initiative for that purpose, which will hold seminars and classes to orient filmmakers with the new technology. Samsung has even enlisted the help of famed YouTuber and Beme founder Casey Neistat to spotlight VR creators.
To bind them all together, Samsung is re-launching its Samsung Milk VR into just Samsung VR. No more awkward milk. The hub now also supports user created content, from the Gear 360 of course, which can then be easily viewed on the Gear VR headset.
To kickstart all of this, Samsung Creators will be launching a competition in July to search for top indie talent in the VR and 360 content genre. Ten categories will be available, namely Music, Auto, Science and tech, Gaming, Travel, Fashion, Culinary, Cause-related, 4D, and Sports, with one winner for each category selected. Of course, you’ll probably need a Gear 360 to make your content, which means VidCon attendees will have a head start.
