The VR Live Pass partnership includes UFC, X-Games and Live Nation, with at least three major events planned for this summer, with more events to be announced.
The CE giant’s Gear VR uses a Galaxy smartphone as its screen — a mobile configuration which for now is faring better than dedicated headsets.
Smartphone VR devices continue to deliver the lion's share of unit volumes for now, according to forecasts from CCS Insight. The firm expects that 14 million smartphone VR headsets will be sold in 2017, rising to 25 million in 2018. Overall, global sales of smartphone virtual reality headsets are expected to grow fivefold to reach 70 million by 2021. The segment will be worth $500 million in 2017, rising to approximately $1.4 billion by 2021.
"Headsets designed for smartphones are the entry point for most consumers when it comes to virtual reality,” Wood said. “Google's Cardboard devices and Samsung's Gear VR headsets have been the early market makers in this area. We expect the momentum to continue at Mobile World Congress next week, with Google's Daydream headsets being a prominent part of many high-end smartphone launches.”
Source: https://www.rapidtvnews.com/2017053147429/samsung-inks-sports-deals-for-vr.html#axzz4ihuIHkVn