Samsung shows off VR headsets that don’t require a phone at MWC

Samsung hasn’t had a huge presence at MWC this year. They unveiled the Galaxy Tab S3, but they’re saving the big phone announcement for later this month. However, behind closed doors at MWC, Samsung has been showing off prototype VR headsets.

There’s something special about the prototype headsets: a phone is not required. Samsung’s current Gear VR headsets use a Galaxy phone as the display and processing power. The prototype headset has a display built-in along with the Exynos 9 processor. That’s the main purpose of the prototypes, to show off the new Exynos 9 chip.

The Exynos 9 will be featured in the Samsung Galaxy S8, but we won’t see it here in the U.S. Samsung is also hoping to push Exynos chips into wearables and Chromebooks. Exynos processors have traditionally been very good, sometimes better than Qualcomm Snapdragon. We look forward to seeing a Gear VR that doesn’t require a phone.