Samsung Gear VR users have watched over 2 million hours of virtual reality content

By Andrew Martonik
last updated

Samsung is putting plenty of weight behind virtual reality, and is building a full-stack solution from 360-degree video capture to the associated software to a headset that can view it all. And as it turns out, the system is working.

Speaking at SDC 2016 in San Francisco, Samsung's John Pleasants, executive VP of Media Solutions, dropped a pretty crazy metric on us: Gear VR owners have already watched over two million hours of virtual reality content to date. To put that into perspective, that's over 228 years of time spent in the Gear VR experience.

That's quite an achievement considering the Gear VR was very limited in availability and relevance in its first versions, only really pushing out to the average consumer with the newest version that retails for just $99 and is built to work with the Galaxy S7.

Every single attendee at SDC 2016 this year will be going home with a Gear 360 spherical camera as well, so the amount of content available for Gear VR users is only going to increase.

Andrew Martonik
Andrew Martonik

Andrew was an Executive Editor, U.S. at Android Central between 2012 and 2020.

15 Comments
  • Just got mines 2 days ago, only played with it for about an hour so far Posted via the Android Central App running on my Galaxy S7
  • 2,000,001 hours now!
  • There's a built in counter? I gotta play with that thing more Posted via the Android Central App running on my Galaxy S7
  • With 1.8 million of the hours being porn... Posted via the Android Central App
  • There's porn? Didn't know that lol Posted via the Android Central App running on my Galaxy S7
  • There is, but you need to 'hack' your way through it. Obviously not from the official Oculus channel hehe.
  • The $99 version is actually built to work with the GS6 up to the GS7 including the Note 5. The way you say it at the end makes it seem like you're implying that it was built solely for the GS7. Maybe I just took it wrong though Posted via the Android Central App
  • The fact that Hulu skips the ads in the VR version no matter which plan you have helps in my case hehe
  • You can use your hulu with it? O snap I didn't know that
  • Yeah! Hulu and Netflix and, of course, local video files. If they added virtual binge watching (synced sessions) to that, oh man, that would be awesome!
  • Yup. My husband is an avid Hulu watcher, but I had no idea that he would take to the whole VR thing like he has. He LOVES watching Hulu through the gear.
  • I'd use it more if it didn't make me physically sick after 15 minutes. Posted via the Android Central App from my S7 edge
  • 2million + 2 hours haha just got done jumping out of a airplane and climbing a mountain hahh Posted via the Android Central App
  • If you can please post your favorite videos/apps on the Forums. So many things out there that some of us just don't know about! :)
  • Well do Posted via the Android Central App