The Gear VR adds user avatars with its new home screen which is just one of the new changes that users of the headset will be able to look forward to. The avatars, which are referred to as Oculus Avatars, are now finally making it to the Gear VR platform after Oculus brought them to the Oculus Rift last year. Avatars, which will also be accessible across content like Oculus Rooms and Hulu so people won’t just be limited to using them from the home screen or in a single app, are just the start as the new Oculus Home interface has a few more things going for it that should make the experience more enjoyable.
Part of this includes faster load times. According to Oculus the home screen will load three times faster than before due to the reworks that have been made in the process of rebuilding Oculus Home from the ground up. With the new home screen content is more streamlined and easier to find to. Not that it was particularly difficult before, but making things more accessible is a step towards getting users even more engaged with VR and the content that can be enjoyed within the virtual space.
The Gear VR also now includes the Oculus Browser which means you’ll be able actually be able to surf the net using your Gear VR headset. If you’ve always wanted to browse the web in virtual reality the Gear VR will now allow you to do so and you can do it all right from the Oculus Home. The app is also native so you won’t have to download anything extra. You can also play video directly from the home screen so you won’t have to enter into a video player should you want to continue browsing the home screen while a video is currently playing. The browser launches today so those who already have a headset will be able to take advantage of it right away, and with the new Gear VR controller making its way to shelves soon, Gear VR will be getting a collection of 70 new titles which make use of the controller, 20 of which will launch next month, while the remaining 50 will launch over the next few months.
