Samsung developing dedicated wireless VR headset

Samsung's vision for the future of virtual reality is more than just phone-dependant headsets. The tech giant is now working on developing independent wireless VR headsets that will no longer require users to plug in their smartphones to enter into the virtual world.

Samsung confirmed at its developer conference on 28 April that it was working on developing a wireless standalone VR headset, the Variety reported. R&D head at Samsung, Injong Rhee said, "We are working on wireless and dedicated VR devices, not necessarily working with our mobile phone."

The tech giant aims at integrating features such as hand and gesture tracking, but as virtual reality is relatively in its developing stages, implementing such technological concepts onto real-life devices may take time. "VR is amazing, but the industry is still at its infancy," Rhee said, indicating that it would be unwise to expect Samsung to come up with a device in future.

Although the concept of a standalone VR headset may be appealing, there are some drawbacks that Samsung is likely to face when working on developing such a device. For instance, hooking up smartphones to VR headsets, while time-consuming for users, actually allows manufacturers to cut down on overall costs of manufacturing VR headsets. Moreover, the move would also likely shift Samsung's relationship with Oculus, which currently provides major support in powering Samsung's Gear VR headsets.

However, the benefits of a standalone VR headset will likely outweigh costs. A wireless VR headset would not only offer users without Samsung smartphones to be able to operate the device, thereby increasing Samsung's sales base, it would also offer increased mobility, allowing users to move around more freely and involve themselves more in immersive VR content.

Samsung is not the only tech giant working on a standalone VR headset. Google is also believed to be working on a similar device.