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If you’re immersed in virtual reality with Gear VR, but need to browse the web for something, you’ll be happy to hear that now Samsung Gear VR has Internet.
Samsung launched a built-in web browser that is specifically made and optimized their Gear VR. The browser is called “Samsung Internet for Gear VR” and it should help users have a better experience as Samsung is looking to set a standard for the VR industry.
How does it work?
The web browser for Gear VR is now available in beta on the Oculus Store and supports 3D and 360-degree video streaming as well as HTML5 video. What makes it very user-friendly are the on-screen keyboard and the voice command feature. Another very important and for some, a bit sci-fi, feature is the “Gaze Mode”. This feature allows the user to choose menus just by looking at them, without having to touch your controller or touchpad. Moreover, the browser also comes with options such as importing or managing bookmarks.
How can “Gaze Mode” and voice command be used
The browser comes with a few default bookmarks such as Google, Yahoo, YouTube and Facebook, which are clearly some of the most used websites. After browsing these sites, you will find a tab with recommended sites. If you want to Google something, you can use voice command and start searching without having to use any other accessories.
The “Gaze Mode” is even less demanding. All you have to do is look at a specific item for more than a second and your look will automatically act as a “click” that will open that said item for you. The downside of this feature is that you might accidentally “click” on items you don’t necessarily want to open.
Another small inconvenience could be the size of the browsing window. There is a zoom feature, but you might not be able to actually resize the window. When it comes to videos, which I believe we all agree, are the best and most important part of the Gear VR, the YouTube support is a great addition and enhances a lot the experience with 360 degree videos.
All in all, although this web browser was much expected as it should have probably been launched at the same time with the Gear VR, it’s already increasing in popularity. However, being so “young” the web browser will most probably be criticized, especially by tech developers who are familiar with how a browser should look and perform.
Image source: www.bing.com
