I've been following this stuff fairly closely: This is rooted in a deal between Samsung and Oculus. The DK2's screen is literally Galaxy Note 3 screen. The s

I've been following this stuff fairly closely: This is rooted in a deal between Samsung and Oculus. The DK2's screen is literally Galaxy Note 3 screen. The screen is a critical part of virtual reality, so a good partner already in the space is a major win. At the same time, Samsung wanted to get into this space with a Gear VR like device. Samsung already had some work done on it before showing it to Oculus. I'm not sure who approached who (I think it was Oculus to Samsung about the screen and Samsung replying that they would like help with the Gear VR.) This was also when John Carmack got involved, and has been the chief person responsible for getting the intensive software requirements to work on a mobile device. As for why now? You gotta start shipping eventually. The current Gear VR is labeled as an "innovator edition", which a way of saying it's a dev kit without actually saying that. I'm guessing the Gear VR system will be attached to the update cycle of the Gear line of phones. As for Gear VR vs Oculus CV1, the CV1 will be better in almost all aspects. However, you can't say use it to watch a movie on a plane ride.