Smartphones are still a very popular piece of technology but the market in some regions is already very saturated, which is why many OEMs have started to develop other products which are fairly new spaces. Take wearables, for example, which although having been around for at least a couple of years, they’re nowhere near the amount of penetration of smartphones. Another new technology space which quite a few manufacturers are exploring is VR or otherwise known as virtual reality. Samsung was the first mobile manufacturer to get something to market with their Gear VR headset, compatible at first with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge which both launched last year.
Samsung then launched a newer version of the headset which was compatible with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge that launched back in April 2015. What about Samsung’s newest phone though? The Galaxy Note 5? One could assume that because the earlier version of the Gear VR is already compatible with the Galaxy Note 4 series that the Galaxy Note 5 may be compatible as well being that they’re featuring the same size display. A recent rumor suggests however this may not be the case, and that the Gear VR will not work with the Galaxy Note 5 that’s set to launch on August 21st.
The rumor begins from a post on reddit, where a user claims that the two products are incompatible. Various comments suggest that with the same size display yet smaller battery and no microSD card slot, the two working together would be a bad idea anyway. Whatever Samsung decides to do in this case, the possibility is there that Galaxy Note 5 owners may not get to use the Gear VR if they already own the original model. Samsung has stated that they’re working on a new Gear VR device for the future, so it’s possible this new model could be compatible with the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+. It’s also entirely possible that they will be able to modify the original model to work with these new devices. IFA is just around the corner and since Samsung has already shown off what would normally be their biggest reveals at IFA, they may end up announcing a new Gear VR at the event alongside the rumored announcement of the upcoming Gear S2 smartwatch with a round face.