The consumer Gear VR is compatible with all of Samsung's 2015 flagships: the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+. The first two phones have smaller screens (5.1-inch compared to 5.7-inch on the last two) and will have a slightly smaller field of view, but they'll also have slightly higher pixel densities. It's a very similar experience either way, so buy the phone you prefer – not the one you think is going to be better in the Gear VR.

Oculus also announced some new content arriving in time for the consumer release. That includes atmospheric exploration puzzler Land's End (from the maker of Monument Valley). Twitch and Oculus Arcade, which puts you in a positively 80s-tastic arcade to play classics like Pac-Man and Gauntlet, are available today.

The new Gear VR costs US$99 – half what eager beavers paid for the Innovator Editions

 

Eoin Treacy's view

Virtual reality is going to be a big story in 2016 as a range of product offerings hit the market designed for PC and game console use. Perhaps the primary benefit the Gear VR has over these upcoming solutions is that the target audience can quite easily finance the purchase of a phone and the $99 headset while the $350+ for a game console plus the VR headset cost will be more prohibitive. 

Samsung Electronics has been ranging with a downward bias since 2013 and encountered resistance last week in the region of KRW1.4 million. It will need to sustain a move above KRW 1.5 million to demonstrate a return to medium-term demand dominance. 

Facebook, which owns Oculus Rift, is somewhat overextended at present but a sustained move below the 200-day MA would be required to begin to question medium-term upside potential.