[Samsung Gear VR] kennysp:
So far, everything checks out. It isn't quite as smooth as when I tried it on my phone while running kitkat...though that may be because I was impatient and did a dirty flash lol (I know, tsk tsk, shame on me, my phone will blow up, yadda yadda yadda. I was impatient! I'll do a clean install in the next few days to update the performance of Gear VR with a properly done flash).

Video player, Netflix, and photos all work well, though slightly laggy (again, dirty flash), and I noticed that the focus wheel isn't quite as smooth as it should be, though I finally got it dialed in.

For those of you that never tried the Gear VR, it does have a fair amount of pixelation, however after watching a movie for a bit you really don't notice it as much. The touchpad, back button, and volume controls all work as they should.

The phone does overheat while using this. I've had a fan directed at my phone while watching movies, and that seemed to help. There are tutorials and write ups on mods you can do, from heatsinks applied directly to the battery, to attaching mini pc-fans to the back of the phone powered by small usb battery packs hooked on the strap by the temple, to plug in fans. I even read about a guy that stuck one of those cold gel eyepatches that women wear between the phone and the faceplate cover to cool down the phone. Whatever you do, know that heat is an issue while using this for playing videos. I haven't tried any of the games yet, but I imagine that it'd get worse with that.

The lenses on the Gear VR are adequate. Things are relatively sharp in the center, but you do get chroma aberrations on the corners of your field of view (purple fringing on areas of contrast, i.e. the edge of the screen will be slightly out of focus from the corner of your eye, and you'll see a purple hue along it). Not a huge issue, as you're most likely concentrating on the center of your viewing area, and shifting your head towards anything you want to look at, but it's there. I've also noticed that you have to have the headset on just right to have everything in focus top to bottom, left to right. If it is slightly off, then you'll notice that certain areas are not in focus.

Despite all this, it's a great piece of tech. It does transport you from wherever you are to another place, be it a theater, virtual VR tour, Iron Man's lab, etc. It is good enough to allow you to suspend disbelief, and engage in an immersive experience. Occasionally, it will bring you back to reality, sometimes in a jarring fashion, but overall, it does the job pretty well. I've even found myself reaching out my hands to try and touch something, only to remember that it's virtual, and usually laugh at myself afterwards.

All I know is I hope that Samsung continues with it's Gear VR line, and that when my upgrade is due in November, I'll get a new piece of tech that'll surpass what this one can do, primarily the pixelation, overheating, and the quality of the lenses.

My buddy got the Note 5, and just received his Gear VR for his phone. I'll try to snag it soon to give it a try, and I'll let y'all know the differences.

Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll try to answer them the best I can.