Samsung is working on a standalone VR headset. The was confirmed by company’s head of R&D for software and services, Injong Rhee at the ongoing Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco.
“We are working on wireless and dedicated VR devices, not necessarily working with our mobile phone”, said Injong. The VR headset will feature positional tracking which is currently present on high-end headsets like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive.
Injong Rhee said talking about the independent VR headset,
You enter a holodeck, you’re actually in a virtual world, interacting with all the virtual objects as if you’re living there. That’s the kind of reality we’re trying to create on these virtual-reality headsets.
Rhee did not reveal any more details about this headset so it is not clear when the standalone VR headset will arrive. In addition to the VR headset, Samsung is also gearing up to launch a 360-degree camera which suggests that the company is focusing on virtual reality. The company already has the Gear VR headset that is powered by Oculus. Hence, it will be interesting to see, what Samsung plans to do about the Oculus partnership. Earlier in February this year, Google was also reported to be working on an independent VR headset.