The news comes from Samsung blog SamMobile, which noted that Samsung could introduce a “kids mode” into its already-launched virtual reality offerings, most notably it Gear VR headset. While we don’t yet know exactly what such a feature would look like, it’s safe to assume that it might curate content specifically built for kids and filter out any content that might be inappropriate. The feature is expected to roll out before the launch of future Samsung flagship devices, including the Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S9.
The move makes sense. Kids have always been big customers of gaming platforms, and there’s plenty of virtual reality content that could be educational. The interface of the Gear VR’s kids mode wouldn’t have to be all that different either — just a little more kids-focused in terms of content.
Kids mode would also likely introduce parental controls to let parents set how long their kids can use the Gear VR, see what kind of content the kids have been accessing, and so on.
Samsung has put a focus on kids in the past, and not just in the software realm. The company launched the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids a few years ago, and the tablet was built to be easier to use and safe for children.
The Samsung Gear VR is the single most popular virtual reality headset currently available — Samsung reportedly sold more Gear VR units than the next three competitors combined. That’s no small feat, and makes Samsung a very important player in the VR space. Samsung isn’t focused only on its hardware — it was recently announced that the Samsung Galaxy S8 would soon support Google Daydream, Google’s virtual reality offering.
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