Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

UPDATE 10/07/2016 As both an owner of the previous 'white' version of the Gear VR, as well as a dozen other mobile VR viewers, three iterations of the Oculus HMD, OSVR HDK 1.3 and 1.4, as well as few of my own designs including the upcoming NEODiVR uPLAy, I thought I'd throw in my two cents: Pluses * Lightweight (6.3 oz) durable plastic shell * Dark color scheme * Good seal to prevent external light * Sharp 40mm diameter PC or Acrylic lenses * Adjustable focus (approximate 40mm - 50mm FL) * External IMU (orientation tracker) * 60Hz low-persistence Refresh rate * Built-In touchpad Home & Return buttons and volume rocker all easily accessible (on the right side) with tactile differences between controls * External female USB-C jack built into the lower right side of the body * Lockable/removable USB-C (default) or micro USB male plugs to for either Galaxy S6, S7, S7 Edge, Note 5 and Note 7. It also works with the Note 4, but it is tight as mentioned elsewhere, and the geometric distortion compensation is not applied, giving it a slight "fishbowl" view when looking around. Also keep in mind that not all Gear VR content works with the Note 4 and it does under perform. * Phone cavity allows multiple Galaxy phones to used with little setup. * Soft terry cloth like material now wraps the facial foam cushion. * GearVR User Interface is easy to navigate allowing content be loaded and purchased without having to remove the headset. Minuses * Cannot be used with other phones outside the Samsung Galaxy family * Relatively bulky and definitely not something you can fit in your pocket. * Like other HMDs, perspiration and irritation to the skin maybe a problem after a few minutes. * Too much chromatic aberrations (color shifted edges on objects) even close to the center of the lens * Lenses are still too small to prevent "Binocular" effect * External 360 videos and images have to be stored in the Downloads folder of your phone. * Cannot load sideload GearVR apps without first being registered to that app at build time unless you use external "hack" apps * Cannot be used with Google Cardboard (or upcoming Google VR) apps without minor hacks (or removing the plug adapter). Unknown at this time if it will be Google VR compatible. UPDATE: it is not Google VR compatible. * Expensive, other quality mobile VR viewers from HOMiDO, BoBoVR, NEODiVR cost half as much. Personal Opinion If you are interested in the top of the line mobile VR experience and you own a Galaxy S phone, it is a no brainer. With its sharper image, better 'Field Of View', fast external orientation tracker (yes it does make difference for heat related drift), and low persistence screen mode. It is the closest experience you will have to a PC based VR rig. With its built-in USB-C jack (and micro USB to USB-C adapter) you can use an external Li-Ion battery back either attached to the back of the head strap (my preference and will have a 3D printable bracket up on Thingiverse and Shapeways by 9/1/2016)) or in your pocket to ensure you don't deplete the internal battery. In saying that, I only used up 15% of my battery charge after an hour of watching videos, images and playing the "Suicide Squad' cell shaded video game exclusively available for the Gear VR only (it was fun and made use of the VR environment pretty well for fixed location shooter). Why the four stars then? I personally felt that they could have gone with larger lenses of 45mm or higher to reduce the binocular effect. But I understand why they didn't. With the Galaxy phones ranging in screen sizes from 5.1" - 5.7", the smaller screen with larger lenses would have showed the edges of the screen which would have destroyed its immersion quality. With this in mind, they made the correct choice in lens dimensions. It is also hard to to knock them for not making the Gear VR usable with other phones. But this is not really true if you remove the USB-C/micro USB plug adapter, you can fit another phone in the cavity, which I did with Nexus 6P. But without anyway to access the screen or a built-in touch button, your Google Cardboard type apps that require it, will be be unusable. I have not tried the app hack to allow the Note 7/Gear VR to be used with Google Cardboard to report on its viability, but will update this review a few days once I have. UPDATE: I have a very low cost capacitive switch so you enjoy Google Cardboard apps. You will need some double sided thin foam tape and 1/4" conductive tape, both can be purchased here at Amazon. Further info can be found on the 'All Things 3D' YouTube channel a month back. Summary The best mobile VR experience if you own one of the latest Galaxy phones and the ONLY Gear VR model that will work with the Note 7. The experience could have been improved with the Note 7 by making a specifically for it with even larger lenses, expanded screen cutouts to use the whole screen (I'd say you lose about 50 pixels between the left and right sides). There is also a general review of both the Galaxy Note 7 and the new Gear VR up on my YouTube channel 'All Things 3D' (youtube/allthings3d) where I show it in use with some actual screen views in operation.