Next Samsung Gear VR could have a built-in super-high-res display

It may be relatively weak compared to the PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive virtual reality competition, but Samsung's mobile-powered Gear VR headset has trounced them all when it comes to sales. 

A new report suggests that Samsung is now preparing to match that massive popularity with a giant spec boost for the next-gen Samsung Gear VR.

According to the Korea Herald, Samsung has been showing off a new  Gear VR device with an integrated display behind closed doors. Current Gear VR headsets don't feature their own displays, but instead make use of a cavity within which you place a Samsung phone and view it through goggles built into the headset.

Eye-popping ppi 

In addition, the headset is said to offer a marked improvement in terms of visual fidelity. While the device being clandestinely showed off has a 1200ppi pixel density, "a headset with 1500ppi is soon expected to be unveiled" according to the report. 

That would make for a display notably sharper than the current Gear VR, but also significantly more pixel rich than the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PS VR, too. For comparison's sake, the top-end HTC Vive 'only' offers 447ppi per eye.

With a strong GDC showing from Oculus, a rumored HTC Vive mobile device in the works and now this, 2017 is shaping up to be a confident year for virtual reality, following a slow close to 2016.

• Hands-on: Samsung Gear VR review