Apart from the new Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ smartphones launched yesterday, Samsung also unveiled an upgrade to the Gear 360 camera with an all new Gear 360 2017 model. The new Gear 360 brings in lot of notable changes compared to its predecessor and design makes it to the top of the list. The new Gear 360 is much smaller in size by upto 50 percent in diameter and now has a built in stand which holds the battery. It also has the standard tripod mount on the bottom if you don’t prefer the built in stand. The camera most likely runs on Tizen firmware (we will wait for the official confirmation though).
The new Gear 360 brings in a much needed upgrade in terms of camera specifications as it features dual 8.4-megapixel CMOS sensors with an f/2.2 aperture and fish-eye lens on either side. The highlight of the camera is its ability to record at 4K resolution (4096×2048) at 24 FPS and H.265 encoding. The camera also supports 360 live-streaming at full HD resolution on platforms such as Youtube, Samsung VR and even Facebook. The camera can also capture crisp 15 MP 360 degree stills. The camera stores the recorded content in a microSD card (support up to 256GB) and the battery supports for 2 hours of recording at 2K resolution and can be charged via its USB Type-C port.
The Gear 360 is both dust and water resistant and comes with IP53 certification. Samsung have also expanded the list of compatible devices with the new Gear 360 which includes the Galaxy S8, S8+, S7, S7 edge, Note5, S6 edge+, S6, S6 edge, A5 (2017) and A7 (2017). The camera also finally brings support to iPhone 7,7 Plus, 6s, 6s Plus and iPhone SE. Samsung continues with the software support for editing on Windows PCs and now has brought support for Mac as well. Although Pricing was not announced at the Unpacked event, Samsung did say mention that it would be lesser than the previous year’s Gear 360 which was priced at USD 350.
Samsung Gear 360 (2017) Product Specifications
| Gear 360 (2017) | |
| Camera | Two CMOS 8.4-megapixel fish-eye cameras |
| Image Processor | DRIMe5s |
| Video | MP4 (H.265) – Dual Lens: 4096×2048 (24fps) |
| Image | JPEG – Dual Lens: 15MP |
| Audio | Codec: ACC Format: MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG |
| Memory | microSD card (Up to 256GB) |
| Features | Shooting mode Video, Photo, Time Lapse Video, Looping Video, Landscape HDR IP53 Certified Dust and Water Resistant Camera mode Dual/Single Lens mode |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz) Wi-Fi Direct Bluetooth® 4.1 USB 2.0 (Type-C) |
| Dimension | 100.6×46.3×45.1 mm |
| Weight | 130g |
| Battery | 1,160mAh Li-ion |
| Compatibility | Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+, S7, S7 edge, Note5, S6 edge+, S6, S6 edge, A5 (2017), A7 (2017) *Android 5.0 or later, iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 6S, 6s Plus, SE, *iOS 10.0 or later, Windows, MacOS |
