MWC 2016: Samsung Unpacked Press Conference Live Blog... in VR?!

02:02PM EST - Time to play!

02:02PM EST - We were told to take the boxes

02:01PM EST - Still don't know what the do not touch boxes are

02:01PM EST - Sounds like it's wrapping up

02:01PM EST - 'we deliver on every device, we are committed to stepping beyond boundaries'

02:00PM EST - More media rushing the stage as Mark leaves

01:58PM EST - Facebook social VR apps

01:58PM EST - I wonder how power intensive that is

01:58PM EST - Dynamic streaming - compress the bits you're not looking at

01:57PM EST - 20000 videos in 360 upload added to Facebook

01:57PM EST - All about Facebook 360 videos

01:56PM EST - Over 1 million hours of video watched on Gear VR

01:56PM EST - Wanted to target $99

01:55PM EST - Samsung can manufacture at scale

01:55PM EST - 'RealVR'

01:54PM EST - Combining Samsung + Facebook + Oculus

01:54PM EST - 'Or having a meeting somewhere exotic'

01:54PM EST - 'Imagine being at a campfire whenever you want '

01:53PM EST - Talking about having an immersive 360 experience on baby's first steps

01:52PM EST - About half the crowd rushed the stage

01:51PM EST - This is now possible with Samsung

01:51PM EST - Talking about VR websites

01:51PM EST - Mark Zuckerberg on stage

01:50PM EST - That was a good video, could see pixels though

01:49PM EST - Put on headset time

01:49PM EST - 'other reality'

01:48PM EST - S7 does the algorithm to show it on Gear VR

01:48PM EST - Preview love on S7 and S7 edge

01:47PM EST - 30MP and F2.0

01:47PM EST - There it is

01:47PM EST - Hand held

01:46PM EST - Gear 360 is for non-professionals to tell stories

01:46PM EST - For professionals

01:46PM EST - On screen is Project Beyond

01:45PM EST - 'real world is everywhere'

01:45PM EST - Pranav Mistry on stage

01:45PM EST - Makes sense, VR needs content

01:44PM EST - All about content creation for VR

01:44PM EST - Gear 360 camera for content creation

01:43PM EST - Services and products in VR now

01:43PM EST - New products and services to automobile

01:42PM EST - Samsung Connect Auto built on Tizen and Google Connect

01:41PM EST - 'our special relationship with Google'

01:41PM EST - More carriers supported

01:41PM EST - Expansion of Samsung Pay in 2016 and 2017

01:40PM EST - 'working with partners on products and services'

01:39PM EST - It's a shame more of this event isn't in VR

01:39PM EST - 'Smartphones are not the end of the line'

01:38PM EST - DJ Koh back on stage

01:37PM EST - Select countries get a gear VR as a gift when you order

01:37PM EST - Available March 11, preorders in a week

01:36PM EST - Dates coming up

01:35PM EST - Epic is working with Samsung to improve mobile gaming

01:35PM EST - Running real-time on an S7

01:35PM EST - Reflections with AA

01:34PM EST - Demo on stage

01:34PM EST - Tim Sweeney now on stage

01:33PM EST - Galaxy Game Pack - $200 of ingame credit for popular games

01:33PM EST - Game launcher during games to aid gaming

01:32PM EST - First smartphones with Vulkan are S7 and S7 edge

01:32PM EST - Accessories too

01:31PM EST - 3000 mAh and 3600 mAh batteries

01:31PM EST - 14nm with heatpipe is interesting

01:31PM EST - There's a heatpipe ?!

01:30PM EST - S7 is 30% faster than last gen, GPU is 60% faster

01:30PM EST - Now talking about SoC

01:29PM EST - Also wide angle and fish eye lens covers

01:28PM EST - Now Motion Panorama

01:28PM EST - So this is to enhance experience in low light laggy focus

01:27PM EST - All pixels have two sides to help focus

01:26PM EST - First to embed Dual Pixel

01:25PM EST - 30% larger pixels than 6S Plus

01:25PM EST - F1.7 aperture

01:24PM EST - 'HQ pictures in day and night was a challenege'

01:23PM EST - Updated camera

01:23PM EST - I bet the water proofing makes it harder to fix

01:23PM EST - MicroSD card slot too

01:22PM EST - 30 mins in 1m of water

01:22PM EST - S7 is sealed inside, IP68

01:22PM EST - Talking about water resistance

01:21PM EST - 'needs to be life proof'

01:21PM EST - 3rd party always on screens

01:20PM EST - Smart enough to know if the screen is face down or in your pocket

01:20PM EST - Always on display for time and missed call

01:19PM EST - It looks like an easier edge to use than the S6 edge

01:19PM EST - SDK opened for 3rd party edge panels

01:18PM EST - Do, more, faster. Edge panel updated

01:18PM EST - New phones feel more natural in hand

01:17PM EST - Months perfecting 3d forming process

01:16PM EST - Apologies for slow updates, WiFi is flaky

01:16PM EST - 'S7 and S7 Edge take a bigger step forward '

01:15PM EST - SVP Justin Dennisson on stage

01:14PM EST - 'this is what imagining a smartphone can do'

01:14PM EST - S7 AND S7 edge

01:13PM EST - It looks like a galaxy s7 you know

01:11PM EST - Time to put on the gear VR

01:10PM EST - 'We are human, but explorers'

01:10PM EST - 'We are human, but explorers'

01:08PM EST - ' Pioneer of Mobile Technology'

01:06PM EST - ' The Next Big Step Forward '

01:06PM EST - DJ Koh up on stage. This odd stage

01:06PM EST - It begins

12:52PM EST - and under each seat is a box that says DO NOT TOUCH

12:52PM EST - But in each seat is a Gear VR (Note 5 equipped)

12:51PM EST - Here's something interesting, the stage is in the center of the room with seats around the outside

12:51PM EST - Andrei and I are here to live blog the Samsung event