$99 Gear VR Edition Revealed, Netflix and Twitch Apps Announced

Today during Oculus Connect, Samsung announced a new version of its Gear VR headset aimed at helping mobile virtual reality reach a wider audience than ever before. Executive Peter Koo appeared on stage during the opening ceremony to reveal a $99 Gear VR headset that will launch later this year.

The new headset will work with all of Samsung's 2015-model smartphones, and is described as lighter and more comfortable than the existing "Innovator Edition." That model sells for $200 and requires a Galaxy Note 4/S6. Samsung is calling the new model simply Gear VR, and it will launch in November, in time for the Black Friday shopping bonanza. That means the new headset should be out before November 27.

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Also during the Oculus Connect keynote today, Oculus announced some new apps coming to Oculus Video in the time ahead. Available later today will be an Netflix app, while other video streaming apps coming in the future include those from Fox, Lionsgate, Tivo, Vimeo, and Hulu. In addition, a Twitch app is coming soon that will let people watch streams, and even see avatar versions of their friends in a virtual room.

Check out the image below to see how it looks (without the avatars).

Oculus Connect continues with more presentations later today and tomorrow. Check back later for more.