Software updates for smartphones, tablets, PCs and other gadgets are eagerly awaited mostly because they are expected to bring new features to an old device or fix bugs and security loopholes that may otherwise pose serious challenges. However, every so often, manufacturers will roll out an update that will play havoc with a feature that was working just fine prior to installing the new software. While such risks are always there with any new software update, the dangers are magnified with beta software. While such problems may only be a minor irritant in some cases, they will unfortunately wreak absolute havoc in other occasions, breaking compatibility with programs, protocols or gadgets that you use on a daily basis.
That’s exactly what seems to have happened now with Samsung’s latest Android 7.0 Nougat beta build for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge smartphones, which are the latest premium handsets the company has to offer currently, thanks to the withdrawal of the Galaxy Note 7 from the market following several reports of fires and explosions. It was only earlier this month that Samsung had started rolling out the Android 7.0 Nougat beta update for the Galaxy S7 Edge to volunteers via the Galaxy Beta Program. However, some early adopters are now reporting that installing the latest beta seems to break the phone’s compatibility with the company’s own virtual reality headset, Gear VR.
While users with the new software had earlier reported a minor issue with the Facebook app that has since been fixed with a small update, this new revelation comes as a bit of surprise as the beta release has otherwise been fairly stable by all accounts. There’s some speculation that the lack of compatibility is because the Oculus Store is yet to support Android Nougat, but neither Samsung nor Oculus has yet clarified anything on this front. Unfortunately, there seems to be no workaround at this point in time to bypass this massive compatibility issue, so users will have to hope that Samsung rolls out a fix sooner rather than later. It will be interesting to see how long these beta-testers will have to wait before they can use their VR headsets with their smartphones again.