5M Gear VR headsets in homes, Samsung confirms

More than five million Gear VR headsets are in consumers hands globally, Samsung announced during a CES press conference today.

Samsung did not release any app sales figures, but did say that in total, those users have watched more than 10 million hours of video in Gear VR, the Oculus-powered Samsung phone VR headset. Samsung VR is one of the top applications on Gear VR currently and it houses more than 1,200 360 videos for the headsets, according to the company.

The mobile headset is currently available at 20,000 retail stores across the U.S., the company added.

Samsung did not release any app sales figures.

Gear VR is a critical element to virtual reality’s success, according to the company, which spoke to Polygon late last year for a story about mobile VR.

"Mobile phones aren’t only relevant; they’re critical to the growth of VR," Tom Harding, director of VR and immersive products at Samsung, said at the time. "Gear VR has been critical to the growth of the awareness of VR and its appeal to the mainstream.

Google recently released its own smartphone-powered VR headset. The Daydream currently only works with Google’s smartphones, but will expand support to other Android devices in the future.

More details from Samsung’s press conference are expected to hit at 8 p.m. ET.