Samsung’s well published issues with its flagship Note7 smartphone keep getting worse as its virtual reality (VR) partner Oculus has now removed support for Gear VR.
In a posting on the Gear VR section of the Oculus website a statement reads: “Oculus is removing support for all Note7 devices on the Oculus platform. Until further notice, Note7 devices will not be compatible with the Gear VR. For more information regarding the Note7, please visit Samsung’s information page or contact Samsung directly.”
The smartphone manufacturer has been having problems the Note7’s battery, users are reporting smoke from the device or in the worst cases the batteries are actually exploding.
Not only is this very dangerous for everyday use, but it certainly means owners would want to plug the device into a Gear VR to then strap it to their face. This will also have an effect on sales of the new version of the head-mounted display (HMD), which was designed to work with the Note7’s new USB-C connector. The last Gear VR model will still work with other Samsung products that aren’t dangerous, such as Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, S6, S6 Edge and all the other derivatives.
Oculus will likely bring back support once the battery issues have been resolved, but currently there’s no indication of when that might be.
The timing isn’t great for Oculus and Samsung as last week Google revealed the Daydream View headset which was first announced back in May. The headset will launch next month for $79 USD and the company has already confirmed 30 titles in development for the platform.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Samsung Note7, reporting back with any further announcements.