The Gear VR Innovator Edition has dropped to $100 from Samsung and Amazon ahead of the release of a lighter version expected to ship before late November.
The Innovator Edition of the Gear VR headset first shipped for the Note 4 late last year for $200. Then another Innovator Edition was released this year that works with the Samsung Galaxy S6. With the S6 version soon to be refreshed, it makes sense the Innovator Edition would see a price drop. The new version is expected to ship without the “Innovator Edition” moniker as Samsung begins a consumer push for mobile virtual reality. The new phone holder is said to be 22 percent lighter than the Innovator Edition and features a redesigned button pad on the side for interacting with menus and some games. The same headset will be compatible with the Note 5, S6 Edge+, S6 and S6 Edge.
Overall, this looks like a good time to buy an Innovator Edition if you’ve been holding out buying one for the Note 4, but if you have an S6 it would probably a good idea to wait just a little longer to get the new version. Of course, if there is excess inventory there’s nothing keeping Samsung from dropping the price even more before the new one arrives, but there’s no guarantee that will happen.
It’s unclear how noticeable the differences will be between the Innovator Edition and consumer headset coming soon. The new version lacks a strap going over the head so it might be easier to put on and take off and the new pad on the side might make it easier to interact with menus and games that rely on the input method.
