Your shiny new Samsung phone comes with a headset capable of immersing you in some really cool games and videos, but there’s so much more to Samsung Gear VR. It’s basically a portable entertainment center and if you’re ready for the best possible, you’ll get it. All you have to do is make sure you’re set up to enjoy VR, which is no different from having fun anywhere else.
Here are some simple tips for setting up your Gear VR for maximum enjoyment.
Don’t know how to assemble Gear Gear VR? Check out our guide!
Take your headphones
Pretty much every Gear VR experience will tell you what’s best with headphones, and for good reason. Headphones let you feel immersed in the sensations you see by hearing things from all angles, as if you were in a different reality that doesn’t require a headset.
If you got your Gear VR for free with the Galaxy S8, your phone comes with a set of decent headphones that are perfect for the experience. If you are looking for the best options, we have several options for you.
The best headphones for your Samsung Gear VR
Create Oculus Avatar
The Oculus app will grab your Facebook profile as the effective default for your Oculus profile, but there’s another option that’s more interesting — Oculus Avatars! These are more dynamic, often goofy versions of yourself that you can dress up however you like, and they move around in virtual reality synchronized with your head movements.
Oculus Avatars can be used on any app, which means you’ll be running apps and games on Gear VR where other people can see and interact with you as your Oculus Avatar. Grab the Avatar Editor app from Oculus and have some fun with it so you can be part of the fun later.
Learn more: How to set up your Oculus avatar
Set up a payment method
You don’t have to buy apps and games from Oculus, and there are actually plenty of great free experiences on Gear VR. Even if you don’t think you’ll ever pay for apps on Gear VR, you should probably add a payment method to your account. Having it already downloaded allows you to quickly buy by simply entering your pin, and you can go from watching something cool to actually using it in seconds instead of minutes.
The Oculus Store allows you to use multiple different cards, or add your PayPal account if you don’t like keeping your card somewhere. Either way, this is absolutely what you should do before diving into gear VR.