Today, Samsung will release a new and improved version of the Samsung+ app (version 3.0), a one-stop destination for empowering people to get the most from their Samsung products, with additional features to further Samsung’s customer support offerings and deliver a more supported ownership experience.

Key features of Samsung+ 3.0 app include:

Customer Support:

• Live Support: With a variety of support options to meet customers’ needs, the Samsung+ app provides live support via video chat with the option to text, or phone support with a Samsung representative 7 days a week.

• Samsung Assist Feature: Brand new for Samsung+ 3.0, “Samsung Assist” feature brings users hands-on support, direct to their screens wherever they are. Samsung owners can access “Samsung Assist” feature to allow a support representative to remotely operate and troubleshoot their device. “Samsung Assist” feature can be activated once a consumer grants permission, during a video chat or phone call with a support representative. This feature is currently available on the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge. Other Galaxy devices and tablets will receive the “Samsung Assist” feature through carrier updates over the coming weeks.

• On Demand Answers: Understanding that some customers prefer self-guided support, Samsung+ app offers On Demand Answers, which include FAQs troubleshooting tips for users to solve issues on their own.

• Device Diagnostics: The app’s Diagnostics feature keeps tabs on your device’s battery health as well as data and security. Simple tools pair with diagnostics to quickly optimize battery life and streamline storage.

• Tips & Tricks: Samsung+ app provides a library of tips and tricks and personalized support to help you do more and get more from your device. The release of Samsung+ 3.0 makes tips and tricks available for Samsung home appliances and consumer electronics, in addition to mobile devices.

• Community: With version 3.0, Samsung adds community across Samsung+ and online at samsung.com. Content will continue to be added on a rolling basis and we are excited to see this evolve as a valuable future resource for customers.

Exclusive Access to Content and Rewards

• Galaxy Life: Samsung+ app treats owners like true VIPs, providing insider access to the latest Samsung innovations, plus personalized offers, discounts on the latest Samsung products, and even ticket giveaways for big events, which most recently occurred at SXSW.

Availability: The 3.0 version of Samsung+ app will be available starting today on Google Play.

About Samsung+: The Samsung+ app is the one-stop destination empowering people to get the most from owning their Samsung products through personalized, live expert support, a vast library of tips and tricks and self-support tools to keep your device running like the day it was purchased. In addition, Samsung+ app offers insider access to Samsung’s products and services, valuable content, special offers and rewards people won’t find anywhere else. The Samsung+ app comes preloaded on select Samsung mobile devices, including the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge (varies by carrier), or can be downloaded from the Google Play.

You might find yourself perched precariously, sitting in a chair on the edge of a building in a post-apocalyptic cityscape as a murder of crows flocks around you. Later, you’re sitting on a rattling railroad, directly in the path of a speeding train.

This is the world of Gear VR, where it’s all about the wow factor, and bringing imagination to life.

First announced in September 2014, the Samsung Gear VR innovators editions, now available for the Galaxy Note 4 and S6 and S6 edge, have a gradually expanding list of apps and content that users can enjoy. But the Suwon, Korea-based team that works with content producers says they have only scratched the surface when it comes to the possibilities that the Gear VR presents.

“The first reaction when someone puts on the Gear VR is ‘Wow, I’ve never seen this before, it’s so real,’” says Weston Chirwa, a manager with the New Business Development Group at Samsung Electronics. “That’s the reaction we are going for with all the contents for the Gear VR.” Whether it’s under the sea amidst marine life, or sitting front row at Cirque du Soleil, or walking through  Korea’s historical heritage, Gear VR’s Oculus Store has a good selection of offerings that packs a heavy visual impact for the first-time user of the head-mounted display.

Chirwa, along with manager Helen Hyunjung Nam and assistant manager Dongmin Shin, spend a lot of time working together with producers, evaluating VR content and offering feedback on how to optimize content for the Gear VR. The goal is to create video and games that are immersive, visually stimulating, entertaining and comfortable for the user.

In partnership with Lionsgate, “Insurgent – Shatter Reality”, as described above, is a fully-immersive, 360-degree narrative experience set in the world of feature film The Divergent Series: Insurgent. In Shatter Reality, which puts the user through a series of mental “simulations,” the user can make eye contact with characters and experience two distinct, intensely gripping and realistic “fearscapes,” transporting them from the frightening heights of a crumbling Chicago skyscraper to the intimidating challenge of a massive, fast-approaching locomotive. In addition to their work with Lionsgate, Nam says Samsung has formed partnerships with other film studios including DreamWorks, FOX and Marvel, who are interested in making VR content. “Some want to provide existing movie contents through a VR application while others wants to create new content in VR,” she says.

After the Gear VR hit the market, interest from content producers skyrocketed. “There is great interest from content providers because it gives them another medium to avail their contents to viewers. We are seeing a good response with content providers. Most people want to be on board with Gear VR,” said Chirwa. “Gear VR brings out the creativity in content providers. It gives them the space to be creative. The viewer is able to see a 360-degree world, so developers can create contents that really wow the imagination. The potential is huge.”

When Chirwa, Nam and Shin are evaluating VR games and videos, two of their biggest considerations are level of immersion and the content’s likelihood to cause dizziness or motion sickness. “If the camera is moving fast, some people get dizzy. So we recommend producers to use small and slow movements. We also find that if objects are too far away in the 360 environment, it doesn’t feel like you are there in that environment. To feel like really being there, the camera needs to be very near the object.” Turning around and seeing a ghost or being suddenly confronted by barking dogs is especially startling in the Gear VR world, but these are creative devices that can make for an even more immersive experience.

“Another thing we are looking for is the quality of the stitching,” says Shin. “For 360-degree video, producers need to use several cameras and then the footage is all stitched together.” Shin adds that similar considerations are made for games. “Game developers really like to use first-person (instead of third-person). But we tell them that for an optimal experience, they need to reduce the speed of movements.”
Shin says one of the best games currently available for Gear VR is HeroBound. The game was created by Oculus CTO John Carmack, the man behind such popular games as Quake and Doom. “The game is well optimized for the Gear VR, he built it based on the capabilities of the hardware. I played it for the first time and I was impressed. It’s like playing a game on your desktop but it’s on the Gear VR.” Shin adds that he believes it is only a matter of time until big video game developers are creating Gear VR editions of their most popular games.

As fascinating as the Gear VR may be thus far, the possibilities for future applications are vast and varied. Some companies are already using virtual reality to market products. For example, major carmarkers like Audi and Lamborghini collaborated with Samsung to offer virtual reality test drives using the Gear VR. “It is going to move fast,” says Nam. “Before long, there will be 360-video cameras for consumers so if there’s a family birthday party, you can stream it to your relatives. We are only at a starting point, but we’ll have these sorts of environments later.”

Chirwa believes that Gear VR will take over the inflight entertainment experience, providing passengers with the chance for more privacy and isolation from the annoyances of other passengers. He adds that Gear VR will undoubtedly be a part of the Internet of Things revolution, with the capability of interacting with every other device in the house. The Gear VR has a see-through camera function which brings in the potential of augmented reality. There is potential to overlay information using the Gear VR, so you can look over at your refrigerator and see what is inside. “You are using the Gear VR but you’re interacting with the outside environment and you can overlay everything,” Chirwa says.

Thus far, the focus of most Gear VR content has been entertainment. But educational applications are possible as well. “We feel like the potential is there and future is very bright,” says Chirwa. “We are happy to be the first pioneers to be producing a product that is viable and above the competition in terms of what’s already on the market. The Samsung Gear VR has a 96-degree field of view. It is the best virtual reality product out there.”

For a sports fan, there is nothing quite like being there. But unless you paid for some of the best seats in the house, most sports fans get a better view of the action from the comfort of their own home. Not to mention, the beer and food is cheaper and your living room couch is undoubtedly more comfortable than the outfield bleachers.

In fact, the experience of staying home to watch the big game has never been better. Not only do fans have access to more channels airing live sports than ever before, the production and presentation of broadcasts have made the experience more immersive than ever. The final piece of the equation is Samsung’s modern televisions, which are bigger and more technologically advanced than ever.

The broadcast rights for the world’s top sports leagues and events are seen as more lucrative than ever, and are hotly pursued by an increasing number of sports networks. This in turn has spurned advancements in broadcast technology as networks make efforts to improve the viewing experience and bring fans closer to the action with more camera angles, better sound and more viewing options.

Samsung’s latest 4K SUHD televisions are bigger, more powerful and more sophisticated than ever before, and the exceptional colors and sharper resolution are perhaps best illustrated with sports content. The exceptional refresh rate and contrast allow the viewer to see the spin on a soccer ball, the individual seams on a baseball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, and the look of elation on the face of the running back as he plunges into the end zone. And for a sport like ice hockey, in which a 3-inch, black disk whizzes across the playing surface at up to 140km per hour, advancements in TV technology have made a profound impact on the viewer’s ability to follow the play.

Sports Mode

Samsung has also added features to its Smart TVs that further improves the viewing experience for sports fans. Sports Mode optimizes the picture by enhancing the vividness and sharpness of the playing field. Stadium Sound makes it feel like you are sitting in the crowd and watching the game. Samsung has created specialized sport-specific modes such as Soccer Mode, Hockey Mode and Cricket Mode, which are available in countries where those sports are popular.

In a world where users increasingly want their content on-demand, what really sets sports apart from other types of content, is that people must watch it live. Any sports fan would attest that watching the game when you already know the result takes a lot of enjoyment and suspense out of the experience, and trying to avoid spoilers can be very stressful. This is one of the major reasons why sports broadcasting rights have become so lucrative in recent years – they are DVR-proof, and thus, viewers are more likely to watch the ads. However, that does not mean that viewers don’t benefit from a variety of DVR features offered by Samsung’s Smart TVs.

With Soccer Mode, the user can record game highlights manually or use the auto-highlighting feature, which analyzes the picture and sounds, including the game commentators and the scoreboard, to automatically save the game’s big moments. Smart TV will allow you to split the screen, so you can watch live action on the left and go back to check out highlights on the right.

Sports on the Go

Major sports leagues are providing services for users who want to watch live content on their mobile devices. The NBA League Pass allows subscribers to watch every NBA game live or on-demand in HD on any device. Samsung’s Galaxy S6 and Note 4 both have powerful Quad HD Super AMOLED displays that make the experience of watching live sports on a mobile device better than ever.

As major European and North American sports leagues expand their reach around the globe, many sports fans now have access to the mobile devices, content services and the super-fast mobile networks that will allow them to watch live events while on the go, especially when time zones are an issue.

In addition, Samsung Smart TVs make it easy to share content from your smartphone to the TV, or from your TV to your smartphone. So if the game is on but you need to move to another room in the house, you can easily switch to your phone with one click.

In this new era of sports content, fans are well served by the Smart TVs and mobile devices offered by Samsung Electronics.

Last year, we introduced the Gear VR, a virtual reality headset that pairs with smartphones to deliver a new type of mobile experience. As a burgeoning field, the virtual reality ecosystem continues to grow. In an effort to accelerate its expansion, we are reaching out to developers through our Gear VR framework, or GearVRf, an open source framework that helps developers produce video as well as apps and games for Android-powered virtual reality headsets.

The GearVRf makes it easy to develop compelling VR applications without requiring extensive knowledge of OpenGL and the Oculus renderer, as the GearVRf uses programming language already familiar to many Android developers, such as C++ and Java. Producing virtual reality content has also been simplified, as the GearVRf does not require a high degree of 3D graphics knowledge. For instance, developers who already have images, videos and even 3D models can easily add and edit them in their virtual space.

The GearVRf is also open source. This means developers can modify and add plug-ins to the GearVRf, and modify the code to their own requirements. For more information about the GearVRf, we ask developers to please visit: www.gearvrf.org.