Samsung Galaxy Unpacked @ Mobile World Congress 2016 W/ Mark Zuckerberg
Heads up that today, stemming from the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event at Mobile World Congress, the event was live-streamed in 360 format and Samsung Gear 360 VR Camera!
Mark Zuckerberg was there to announce new advances in Facebook’s long-term efforts to build the future of virtual reality. On stage today at Mobile World Congress 2016, announcing the news, Mark Zuckerberg said:
“I think about my baby daughter and the way I want to remember when she takes her first steps. When I took my first steps, my parents just took a pen and wrote the date down in a baby book…when my cousin, when her son took his first steps, she took a photo with a camera. My sister, when her son took his first steps, she took a video on her phone. But I want to capture the whole scene. So, I hope we can take a 360 video. So that way, even if my parents and my family aren’t there to experience it in person, they can feel like they’re right there with us. VR is the next platform, where anyone can create and experience anything they want.”
“Going back about 10 years, most of what we shared and experienced was text. And then it was photos. And now we’re entering into a world where that’s video. But pretty soon we’re going to live in a world where everyone has the power to share and experience whole scenes as if you’re right there in person.”
“There are lots of other challenges that we need to solve to create great VR experiences. Facebook, with Oculus, are committed to this for the long term. We’ve recently created new teams at Facebook to build the next generation of social apps and VR.”
“VR is going to be the most social platform. Now, that’s also why we’ve worked with Samsung, to deliver Gear VR. Gear VR is by far the best mobile VR experience. And that’s because it combines the best hardware, from Samsung, with the best software – from Facebook, with Oculus.”
Since Gear VR launched in November 2015, the response has been incredibly strong: More than 200 games and apps are now available for the platform in the Oculus store, and people have already watched more than a million hours of video in Gear VR. Since then, more than 20,000 360 videos have been uploaded to Facebook (with hundreds more added daily).
Facebook and Oculus developed Dynamic Streaming technology to deliver more efficient 360 videos, showing only the pixels you’re looking at in the highest quality, instead of delivering the entire 360 video in high resolution. This means we’ve quadrupled the resolution of 360 streaming video in VR by reducing the amount of bandwidth required by 4x – so videos look clearer and play faster.
Samsung Gear 360 Powerful Improvements to 360 Video in VR
Video content – especially 360 video – has been extremely popular, with over 1 million hours of video watched in Gear VR! Samsung has made it easier to record and upload your personal 360 videos to Gear VR with the new Gear 360 camera, also unveiled today.
This device makes it easy to capture moments from every angle and instantly save them to your camera roll so you can upload straight to Gear VR or share with your friends on Facebook.
Gear 360 is compatible with Google Street View app, which means you can record, publish and share your spherical images to Google Stree View with the world!
Samsung Gear 360 Dynamic Live-Streaming Announced @ MWC 2016
Dynamic Streaming will be available on Gear VR in the next few weeks. Facebook has created a Social VR team focused entirely on exploring the future of social interaction in VR. They’ll explore how people can connect and share using today’s VR tech, as well as long-term possibilities. They will work closely with Oculus and other teams at Facebook to build the foundation for tomorrow’s social VR experiences on all platforms.
Samsung Gear VR Powered by Oculus Now Bundled with Galaxy S7 Pre‑Orders
Samsung just unveiled the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, the latest additions to their line of high-end smartphones. Pre-orders open tomorrow and will include a Samsung Gear VR, powered by Oculus! Visit the Galaxy S7 website for details. To make sure you get the most out of your new phone and Gear VR, Oculus is adding a content bundle featuring six made-for-VR games with an estimated $50 USD value to all US pre-orders. Bundles vary by phone carrier and include hit games and experiences like EVE: Gunjack, Land’s End, and Anshar Wars 2.
200+ apps on the Oculus Store with More Coming Soon
There are now over 200 apps and games available on Gear VR. Recent favorites include: Goosebumps, PGA TOUR, and Hidden Temple, with more great hits on the way. Get ready to dive into multiplayer battles in Herobound: Gladiators, catch a giant fish in Bait, and puzzle our way to safety in Please Don’t Touch Anything – all coming soon to Gear VR!
