Samsung’s 360-degree action camera, the appropriately named Gear 360 is long overdue, the camera was announced at Mobile World Congress back in February, but 2 months on there’s still no official release date. Dutch online retailer bol.com however is apparently supplying the date, and the camera could be cheaper than first thought.
According to the Gear 360 product page on bol.com, the Gear 360 will be available on the 22nd of May, finally giving us an idea of at least when Europeans will be able to get their hands on the accessory. The European launch date is a good indicator for global launch, with Samsung getting pretty good at global distribution for new products over the last few years.
Pricing wise, the camera is looking to come in relatively cheaper than the previously announced €419 price tag, with Samsung in the Netherlands advertising the camera for €349,99 on their official website.
Pricing wise, the Samsung Gear VR at that price, if we do a direct Euro to AUD exchange works out at $504.70AUD, though you can expect some pricing changes when it does launch here. The market for 360-degree cameras starts (or will when it launches in May) with the LG 360 CAM at $399, and goes up to the Ricoh Theta S at $569, with the 360Fly coming in at a surprisingly expensive $649.
Spec wise, the Gear 360 ticks a lot of boxes, with the Portal Turret looking device packing a lot of specs into a fairly compact body:
| Samsung Gear 360 | |
|---|---|
| Camera | Two CMOS 15 megapixel f/2.0 fisheye lens sensors 25.9 megapixel photo |
| Image Processor | DRIMe5s |
| Video | MP4 (H.265) – Dual Lens: 3840×1920 (30fps) |
| Image | JPEG – Dual Lens: 30M (7776×3888) |
| Audio | Codec: MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ Format: MP3, M4A, AAC, OGG |
| Memory | microSD card (Up to 128GB) |
| Features | Display – 0.5” (72 x 32) PMOLED Shooting mode – Video, Photo, Time Lapse Video, Looping Video Camera mode – Dual/Single Lens mode Camera Setting – Sharpness, White Balance, HDR, EV, ISO limit, Wind cut IP53 Certified Dust and Water Resistant |
| Samsung Services | Samsung Gear 360 App, PC S/W (Gear 360 ActionDirector) |
| Connectivity | WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz) WiFi Direct BT v4.1 USB 2.0 NFC |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Gyroscope |
| Dimensions | 66.7×56.2×60 mm @ 153g (including battery) |
| Battery | 1,350mAh Li-ion |
So far Samsung Australia hasn’t listed the Gear 360 on their Australian website, so there’s no guarantee we’ll see the Gear 360 launch here in May. As soon as Samsung Australia – or one of our tipsters – have anything to announce, we’ll be sure to share it here with you.
