Virtual reality has seen a surge of interest this year, with contenders such as Samsung’s Gear VR, Oculus Rift, and Sony’s yet-to-be-released PlayStation VR all contending to take the top spot.
So far, Gear VR has largely been limited to accessing games, certain apps, and video playback – yet today Samsung have introduced the capability to browse the internet through a Gear VR-optimised web browser.
Named, unimaginatively, Samsung Internet for Gear VR, the company’s latest app is essentially a VR web browser which a user may use to surf the internet and visit website without having to use a dedicated app.
Internet for Gear VR is one of the first official apps available to let users browse the internet in a VR setting.
The app, which, naturally, lets users visit sites across the web, also enables its users to import browser bookmarks from one’s smartphone, and offers accessible tabs.
The Gear VR app further supports ‘both 360-degree and 3D video streaming, as well as any HTML 5 video from the web’, according to Samsung, which means that users can either watch normal video or explore 360 degree and VR optimised videos on sites such as YouTube.
The browser further supports voice recognition and an on-screen keyboard, as well as a “Gaze Mode” which allows users to select items by starting at them rather than by using the Gear VR’s side trackpad.
The Samsung Internet for Gear VR web browser app will be available for download in beta starting today, December 2nd, through the online Oculus Store.
What’re your thoughts on Samsung’s VR-optimised browser? Would you be interested in using virtual reality to explore the web? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below!