Virtual Reality Competition
Samsung Electronics has released Milk VR in the United States. The digital content service is for users of its virtual reality headset, the Gear VR. Milk VR provides a variety of virtual reality content updated every weekday, each of which plays for one to 10 minutes and can be downloaded from the Oculus Store.
Samsung Electronics is focusing on virtual reality devices as one of its future growth drivers these days. It is cementing its partnership with DreamWorks, 20th Century Fox, Legendary Pictures, Marvel, and many more to enrich the digital ecosystem for the Gear VR. Also, it unveiled the Beyond Project for an omni-directional 3D camera at the Samsung Developers Conference held two months ago in San Francisco.
Not just Samsung Electronics but also Google, Apple, and Microsoft are paying increasing attention to virtual reality as an emerging driver of the growth of the IT industry as a whole. For example, Apple is expected to release a virtual reality application prototype in the near future. Its virtual reality headset is sure to be linked to iOS, signaling a rivalry with Samsung’s Gear VR. Apple is currently recruiting a number of engineers in the field.
Google is continuing with its investment in the field, too. Recently, it invested US$542 million in Magic Leap with Qualcomm Ventures, Vulcan Capital, and others. Microsoft is likely to launch a virtual reality headset for gaming purposes this year, too.
“With the smartphone market already having reached its saturation point, the global IT giants are turning their eyes toward virtual reality,” said an industry expert, adding, “Their competition will be heating up with time in this industry that has a variety of applications in other sectors like game, medicine, and film.”