VR just got serious and you should be paying attention

Complementing the LG 360 VR is the LG 360 Cam, which is essentially a camera unit that integrates two 13 MP shooters.

Tech giants like Samsung, LG, Huawei, Sony, Microsoft, Intel and Qualcomm have unveiled a mind-boggling array of new gadgets at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. It goes on in showing the smartphone being used with a Samsung Gear VR headset and allows the users a peek into just how cool the VR experience can be. The social media company is aggressively investing in virtual reality technology and hopes to exploit the market in earnest. That is why Facebook is investing so much in VR, so they can deliver these “social experiences”.

Talk in the town suggests that even though the Galaxy S7 seems to be the ideal device, LG’s new G5 is revolutionary and can be termed as the smartphone of the future.

With all major Android phone makers doing their bit to woo our curiosities at the event, we decided to make a list of the best smartphones that may land on your palm sooner or later. The surprise appearance of Zuckerberg, who “stole the Samsung show” and commanded considerable attention from the press, shows Facebook’s commitment to VR and the Samsung partnership.

Research firm TrendForce predicts global smartphone sales will grow by 8.1 percent in 2016, down from 10.3 percent a year ago.

The new device, LG 360 VR, uses the same Google Cardboard content as well as videos and pictures captured by LG 360 CAM (LG’s 360 degree camera), which is also a new accessory in the companion devices for the LG G5 phone series (“Friends” as LG calls them). If you pre-order a Samsung S7 or S7 Edge phone, you’ll get a Samsung Gear VR headset (a $100 value) thrown in free, meaning there will be a lot of people trying these out this year.

Samsung also says its new phones will have a faster focus, which it says will improve performance at low light. Hopefully, it’ll be competitive to the $99 Gear VR.

VR technology this year would more visible than ever, as there are a number of VR headsets coming out. With Samsung’s VR device, the smartphone is inserted at eye level and becomes the headset’s display, increasing the weight on the head.

The prices of both the LG 360 VR and LG 360 Cam have not been announced yet, though their release is said to be in April, perhaps soon after the release of the LG G5 commercially, as The International Business Times says. Oh, and you’ll need a PC too, albeit one a little less powerful than the one the Oculus VR demands. HTC said Sunday that a consumer version of the Vive will start selling in early April for $799, with ordering to begin February 29.

VR isn’t limited to high-end devices: On Saturday, Alcatel announced a mid-range Idol 4S – with packaging that can be folded into VR headset.