[Note 7 Guides, News, & Discussion] nomailx:
I Already started another thread trying to explain why imo a 4K Display is crucial for the future of VR and why the Galaxy Note 8 should keep its promise to include a 4K Display. (Link under Post Scriptum).

---- Then I realize that most people think that VR is just a gimmick and doesn't have its uses. Most users just picked up VR for 10 minutes, liked it and then forget about it. This would have been a completely different if that Display was 4K.

In this thread I will try to explain things that can be done with VR and thus show how these experiences would improve drastically with a 4K VR Display on your phone. This thread will aim to inform people who are not that familiar with technology and especially with VR, but still may be curious of what it can do.

1. Pocket Movie Theatre with true 3D Experience:

You remember when 3D tvs were "in"? And that period of time when movie companies started to release all their content in 3D for movie theatres. Well, there's a reason why 3D stood strong in Movie Theaters since then and not in the living room's Tv. The reason is simple. Movie theaters offer a "Focused" experience with a huge Screen, while the living room is more casual and most common 3D tv screen panels can't compete with the silver screen. VR can.

Most VR users only focus on 360 videos for VR or 3D-360 videos, but they mostly forget about an important alternative: Watching 3D Movies in a Virtual movie theater!

When I used the Gear VR with my Note 7, I was amazed how the experience of being in a Movie Theater was Vivid! BUT Don't get me wrong! Usually I hate watching 3D movies in movie theaters. It's dark, blurry, I hate it. And I hated it on my Asus laptop with a 3D Screen. Again, too dark. But when I tried to watch a 3D movie on the Gear VR, I truly liked it. I thought "now this is how 3D is supposed to be. VR is the gateway to true 3D". The "3D" experience makes sense only in VR. That's what you understand as soon as you try it.

Here's a link that can be helpful if you are interested: https://www.vrheads.com/how-watch-3d-movies-your-gear-vr

But still, something was missing. It was all there, but not quiet yet. I could still see individual pixels. This is called the "Screen-Door effect". Basically it means being able to differentiate pixels on the display. One thing was then obvious. The Display resolution of the Note 7 was not bad at all. But double it, and you'd have a better experience without the Screen Door Effect. 2K is not there yet. It gives you an idea what VR could be, but also states that "4K" is the resolution to start VR.

Here are some live examples on what I am talking about:

Here's a PC Game shot "Zoomed" and "Through its Lens" with the Occulus rift which renders around "2160 x 1200" resolution:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3yDMgiqqjI&index=7&list=PLVIzBp5A6H0pY5vktvnZomrUUK1de8zD9

Now, the exact same game, again shot "Zoomed" and "Through its Lens" with the Pimax 4K which offers 4K resolution:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlB5sCbezQM&index=6&list=PLVIzBp5A6H0pY5vktvnZomrUUK1de8zD9

Now you can easily imagine that when not zoomed you would hardly see any pixels on the Pimax 4K.

This shows how a 4K Display is the Milestone for VR. It's THE Resolution that once achieved, truly offers a decent VR experience all can embrace. Is it the ultimate? Of course not. 8K will be better, at 16k we won't see any pixels even when zooming etc... But 4K, even not the ultimate resolution that VR must reach to be perfect, is THE resolution that will validate VR and allow it to be mainstream. VR Should have started at 4K. It's safe to think that starting VR at 2K is premature and stained its capabilities.

With all that in mind, now maybe you could imagine an immersive 3D movie experience right in your pocket thanks to a 4K Display. And no movie theater or home tv system would even come close to compete with that experience.

----------------

2. Virtual Desktop

You already know how much technology tries to shrink the size of computing. And based on the past, everyone accepts that the future is "Stronger tech in smaller package". With the Snapdragon 835, smartphones now take a bolder step toward pc level computing. And one of the first steps came with Samsung's Dex. To come to my point, let's first see what Samsung achieved with Dex.

The Dex is simply a dock connected to a monitor in which when you insert your Galaxsy S8, it changes the basic android interface to a PC like interface and transmits the changed pc like interface to the monitor it is connect to, for a PC Like experience. A mouse and keyboard connected to the phone thanks to bluetooth are the last peripherals that allows a full "pc like" usage.

Link for more info about the Dex: https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/29/15104600/samsung-dex-galaxy-s8-dock-announced-price-release-date

My Point is, you don't need that. You can use your Gear VR as a monitor for your Phone. Many apps allow that. But wait. That's not all. There's more.

What if I told you that you could use a true Full Featured PC with Intel and Nvidia level performance on your phone already. And you could use your Gear VR as the biggest monitor ever. Yes, this is possible thanks to a new streaming service called "Liquidsky". This service offers you a "Streamed PC" available to you anywhere you go. Your Steam account, or Ubisoft account any other gaming account including your game library and any other Desktop application you like can be used thanks to this PC streaming service.

What this allows you to do is incredible. You truly don't need a laptop anymore. Just your phone and you're done. The streaming service uses its own server to compute and process your games and your interaction with the minimum latency, and streams you the screen which you can watch on your phone's display. Since the service also supports VR, you can actually play your game on a huge VR Screen, bigger than any gaming monitor. Imagine playing your game on a Movie Theater. Yes. GTA 5 on a movie theater. Knowing that 2K is less than decent to watch video content, wouldn't you want to have a 4K Display for a total immersion?

On the link above you can watch how to use Liquidsky on Android. In the video you will see that they can play GTA 5 on the smartphone, thanks to their streaming service. And sony has already jumped on the Streaming bandwagon already with their Playstation NOW! Service. It's only a matter of time that it will be available on Android. But IT IS avalaible on PC. Which again, you could use Liquidsky to stream Playstation NOW, and there you have it. PS3 games on your smartphone.

Sony Playstation Now: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/playstationnow/

Official Liquidsky website: https://liquidsky.com/

Liquidsky working on Android: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RQXRsrcObo

Any streaming service to come, like the one mentioned above, already is supporting, and will support, VR. So imagine playing your favorite PC or Playstation game thanks to your smartphone, on a gigantic Movie Theater size Screen on VR! With a 2K Display, the experience wouldn't be as neat and clear as a 4K Display. Any display on your smartphone short of 4K Resolution would make the experience "fun but tiring, not quiet there yet". 4K is THE resolution that would truly immerse you and make you forget that you are staring at a Virtual Screen.

3. Exclusive 4K Content for your Phone.

You realize that the two points I mentioned above are not even content directly aiming your smartphone. These are just the "side effects" of evolving smartphone technology toward VR capabilities. But there are so much more you can do just because your phone has a 4K Display. Here are basic VR and non VR features you can do with a 4K Display:

- Watching 4K 3D 360 or 180 degree videos. Way more immersive experience than what the common 2K content offers.

- Youtube's own 4K 3D, 4K 3D 360 Videos. If you think that 4K is niche, you should know that Youtube already jumped into 8K.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNdHaeBhT9Q

- Able to see 4K Videos and pictures you shot thanks to your device in their native resolution on your smartphone. About that here's a review where Erika tests the 4K Display on Sony's latest flagship, which unfortunately has an LCD screen which is terrible for VR. But still, even as it can't be used for VR, (at least not as effectively as an AMOLED Displays can), Erika reviews the Display and claims that "Yes your eyes are able to see the difference between 2k and 4K".

See it for yourself at the exact time of the Review: https://youtu.be/Hl28F5k20eg?t=536

- And of course the 4K VR gaming content that would soon enter the Android Playstore, as soon as Samsung stands behind the 4K Display.

------------ Bottom Line

4K Display is not just a gimmick. It could open the biggest and the sharpest window to what your phone could show you. It would definitely take off the VR experience drastically. And as I already told in my previous thread, Samsung, or any other phone company, MUST, SHOULD bring a 4K Amoled Display for VR as soon as possible, if they want VR to have a brighter future.

PS: Perviously mentioned Thread Link:

https://xdaforums.com/note-7/how-to/note-8-4k-display-t3622730

Also some mentions and questions how 4K would affect the Battery and the latest Sony 4K display flagship:

- Some worry about the Battery life. Well, this can easily be fixed as sony did on their latest flagship xperia XZ Premium. The phone uses a Full HD display for the everyday use. It initiates 4K when video applications starts. These can be change in options of course.

Same could be done for any 4K Display Smartphone. Just use a normal resolution for casual use, and switch to 4K when using VR, or a video app. Of course, even those settings could be change.

- Talking of the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, it has a 4K LCD Display which creates problems for VR such as motion blurr thus making it hard to use. Yes, it's weird to see Sony bring up a 4K display while totally ignoring VR.

Here's a review of the phone here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl28F5k20eg&t