Samsung developing 'wireless and dedicated' VR headsets

Samsung has begun work on stand-alone VR headsets that won't rely on its brand of mobile devices, the company announced during the Samsung Developers Conference's opening keynote. That makes the headsets unlike Samsung's Gear VR, putting them more in line with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, according to Variety.

Among the features discussed by Samsung are positional tracking, as well as hand and gesture tracking. These functionalities remain a ways off, however, according to the company.

There's no timetable planned for the release of the device, but Samsung will continue to support the Gear VR in the meantime. That headset requires the use of Samsung Galaxy S6 and S7 phones, unlike the planned standalone device. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge come with the Gear VR headset packed in; it costs $99.99 otherwise.

"We think 2016 is shaping up to be the year of VR" Samsung's head of research and design for software Injong Rhee said. The company then announced that the Gear 360 virtual reality camera would go on sale April 29.

To find out more about the whole gamut of VR headsets, check out our guide. We've also reviewed the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, both of which are now available for purchase. Sony has its own headset in the works too: PlayStation VR will arrive in October.

We've reached out to Samsung for further details and will update accordingly.