Samsung Offers an Adapter to Use Galaxy Note 9 With Gear VR; Gear VR Successor Also Apparently in Works

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has received an adapter that will help you easily use the phablet with the Gear VR. The adapter essentially makes the Gear VR compatible with the Galaxy Note 9, which doesn’t have dimensions identical to those of Galaxy Note 8. Customers need to reach out to Samsung to get the adapter for free. In the meantime, the South Korean giant is apparently working on a successor to the Gear VR that is likely to support the Galaxy Note 9 by default. The current Gear VR iteration with model number SM-R325N was notably launched in August last year.

As some members have observed on XDA Developers’ forums, Samsung is giving an adapter for free of charge to the Galaxy Note 9 users. The adapter can be obtained by making a call to the customer service in the US or by asking a customer service executive through the Samsung+ app. In markets other than the US, customers need to reach out to the official support to get the adapter. It may take as much as two weeks for the adapter to reach your destination.

The adapter helps users fit their Galaxy Note 9 into the Gear VR that was originally meant for an as large handset as last year’s Galaxy Note 8. Alongside the Galaxy Note 8, the Gear VR with its present shape works with old Samsung models such as the Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 Edge, Galaxy S6 Edge+, and Galaxy Note 5. But it is worth mentioning here that the key motive behind launching the Gear VR in August last year was to add support for the Galaxy Note 8 that doesn’t fit into the old Gear VR model.

Alongside the development of the adapter for the Galaxy Note 9, Samsung is apparently working on the successor of the Gear VR. The new VR headset, dubbed HMD Odyssey+, was recently spotted in an FCC listing. The FCC listing highlighted that the Gear VR successor will come with traditional VR-enabling components, including a cable holder, speaker, lenses, microphone and a focus adjustment wheel among others. Additionally, the headset has also been listed on the Bluetooth certification website with two model numbers, XE800ZBA and XQ800ZBA. This suggests that the headset could come in two different variants, both supporting Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality platform. Further, the headset has Bluetooth support that is likely to enable its pairing with a gamepad or other game controllers.

Samsung hasn’t revealed any of its plans for the successor to the Gear VR. However, we can expect that the company could announce some details around its next headset at IFA 2018 later this month.