At the moment, if you're keen on an independent virtual reality experience, it's going to cost you. With the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive retailing for $600 and $800 respectively in the States, it has meant that devices like Samsung's Gear VR are growing in popularity. They currently retail for R2 000 here in SA, but do require the use of specific Samsung Galaxy smartphones or phablets in order to work. 

That could change in the near future, with Samsung reportedly working on their own standalone offering. The South Korean manufacturer 'confirmed' the news to Variety, with a VR headset that incorporates positional trackers to create a more accurate VR experience.  

As such, it appears the company is doubling down on virtual reality. Samsung's head of R&D for software and services, Injong Rhee, told Variety that the company is working on wireless and dedicated VR devices at Samsung's developer conference in San Francisco earlier this week. Along with an independent VR device, Samsung is also aiming to make the creation and publishing of VR content easier. To that end, the Gear 360 VR camera will be launching Stateside in coming days. Added to this, Samsung has unveiled a VR Upload SDK for developers to create specific apps and interfaces. 

With the likes of Google also going full steam ahead with a richer VR experience, it should prove interesting to see if these devices can catch up to HTC and Oculus' head start.