John Carmack, CTO at Oculus, has tweeted advice to those considering a new phone for VR that they should wait until after Oculus’ 2nd Connect conference next month.
Samsung’s ‘Unpacked’ event has now been and gone, without much of a clue as to where the mobile tech giant will take the mobile VR platform Gear VR next. The new Note 5 makes few technology advances, with the same screen resolution and reportedly includeing a smaller battery, which may indicate it isn’t the hardware platform Oculus and Samsung will use to push mobile VR forward into the next generation.
Furthermore Oculus CTO John Carmack has tweeted two snippets which seem to indicate that Connect 2 will be the event to watch for Gear VR updates. Specifically, Carmack tweeted:
If you are considering buying a phone for VR, you might want to hold off until after Oculus Connect for relevant information.
— John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) August 14, 2015
A fairly clear warning to mobile VR fans to wait. But for what? The original Gear VR launch was based on the Galaxy Note 4 phablet but it seems that the new Note 5 device, due this year, will offer no real relevant hardware upgradea and successors to Samsung’s flagship smartphone line are not expected for a while. A second tweet cements the hopes we’ll learn much more at Connect 2015:
Lots of GearVR announcements coming at Oculus Connect.
— John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) August 14, 2015
Could Gear VR be headed to become a standalone, mobile hardware platform a la Gameface? Frankly, it would likely offer the best possible mobile VR experience with the fewest compromises but perhaps a less attractive product for a mobile phone focussed company such as Samsung. However, with a slowing mobile technology market, Samsung are looking at ways to diversify – perhaps a dedicated VR SKU might be just the ticket?
Either way, looks like we’ll know more after Carmack speaks at Oculus Connect 2, which is scheduled to take place at the Loews Hotel in Hollywood on 23-35 September. Registration for the event is now closed, those who did register should receive confirmation of their places by mid August.
Road to VR will be at Oculus Connect 2 in September to bring you the latest on Gear VR and everything else.
