Samsung Gear VR pre-orders open: $99 virtual reality headset goes on sale at Best Buy

The little headset, which works by sliding a phone in and strapping it onto your head, will be released on 20 November

Jena Malone checks out 360-degree digital content using the Samsung Gear VR (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Samsung)

Samsung’s Gear VR headset has gone on sale, with pre-orders opening at Best Buy.

The kit, which was developed with VR company Oculus, comes bundled with apps including a virtual reality version of Netflix. It also features new apps, games and videos.

Pre-orders have opened at Best Buy, the first shop to stock the kit. It will go on sale from 20 November, for $99.

The headset allows users to slide in their phone — as long as it’s made by Samsung — and use it as the screen. Sensors in the headset then tell it when and how it is being moved around, so that people can look around the 360-degree scene by swivelling their head.

The Gear VR was announced over a year ago, in September. It was followed by developer versions, so that games, apps and films could be tried out and demonstrated with small groups of people.

The new consumer device is altered slightly to make it lighter and more comfortable. But it looks mostly the same, including a big white plastic case with a black visor on the front, and a touchpad on the side that allows apps and games to be controlled.

A range of those apps come on a 16GB SD card that comes bundled with the headset. That includes Netflix, which allows people to watch films and TV in a virtual house.

The headset is compatible with Samsung smartphones including the new S6 and S6 Edge.