Samsung's virtual reality headset might be a Galaxy Oculus Rift

Oculus
Samsung wants in on the VR fun

It's been just over a week since the initial rumor that Samsung is working on a virtual reality headset appeared, and now a new report says at least one of our assumptions was wrong.

That is, Samsung is not looking to compete with Oculus VR and Facebook, but is actually working with them.

Engadget, which also reported the original story, has now shared a flood of new details about what could ultimately be a Galaxy Oculus Rift - or at least something like that.

The Samsung VR headset will reportedly use your phone's actual screen instead of including one of its own, but the headset will also include sensors like accelerometers and other hardware essentials.

Virtual insanity

So what does Samsung need from Oculus? Software, according to this report; Samsung is allegedly getting early access to Oculus's mobile software development kit.

In return, Oculus gets to use the next generation of Samsung's OLED displays in its next Oculus Rift headset. These screens are reportedly higher-def than 1080p.

The Samsung VR headset will supposedly be able to play both games and media and use a paired game controller and/or motion and voice controls.

The phone's rear camera could be used for video pass-through to check your surroundings in between frags, and there might even be buttons on the headset itself, including Android's standard recent apps, home and back buttons.

Currently both Samsung's hardware and Oculus' software are both said to be so early that it's impossible to build full games, but devs have reportedly tried out a musical application set on a beach and a skydiving demo.

Between Oculus Rift, Sony's Project Morpheus headset, and now Samsung's supposed Galaxy VR project, the virtual reality space is starting to really heat up. Wonder what we'll see at E3 2014?

Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.


Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.