Samsung Gear 360 - Full Review

The Samsung Gear 360 is the 360 camera model we've been waiting for. Excels for the average user. You think it has the power of one of the biggest technology brands of the moment, but at the same time, it can be a bit frustrating considering that we are still in a fairly initial world with all these 360 degrees.

To be able to buy it at a price of about $350, it is one of the best in quality-price. The software experience is some of the best we have used in this class. The industrial design is great, but unfortunately, although the size is quite portable we cannot put it in your pocket, in addition to the Samsung Gear 360 that is limited to Samsung mobiles exclusively.

General features of Samsung Gear 360

We are still in the first generations of these 360-degree cameras, but consider this: with the touch of a button you can share everything around you, literally. Think about it, not just what is on one side of the camera but all around it.

There was no chance that Samsung would get into something like that, and such a manufacturer is playing to win. Forever. So it came as no surprise that the Samsung Gear 360 would hit the Mobile World Congress in February 2016, a few months before it hit the market.

Technical specifications

• Dual 15mp CMOS sensor

• Dual f / 2.0 fisheye lenses

• Resolution 2560 × 1440 (564ppi)

• Video: dual camera (2840 × 1920), single-camera (2560 × 1440)

• Video: dual camera (7776 × 3888), single-camera (3072 × 1728)

• A battery that can remove 1350 mAh. It is charged via USB.

• DRIMe5s image processor.

• Storage up to 200GB with a memory card.

• 1GB of RAM.

• Wi-fi 802.11ac.

• Bluetooth 4.1.

• 32-64GB internal cardless storage.

Gear design, style and portability

Does the build of the Samsung Gear 360 matter if it's not worth trying to pocket? At any moment it is quite likely that the Gear 360 will come to life and try to go to my table, and kill me while I sleep ... You will have already seen that it looks a bit extraterrestrial. But as you well have supposed, it is something intentional, and it is not that it is bad, it is simply different.

We start for example with those three tripod legs once we have deployed them. But this is because the camera has a spherical body, so the Samsung Gear 360 stands out a bit for this reason, but it is something that we will undoubtedly see more as we see more models that come on the market.

You have fisheye lenses that stick out from each side, each taking about 180 degrees of what is happening around you. You have the record button about half an inch in the centre. In addition, on one side you will find buttons to operate the Samsung Gear 360, and on the other side, there are where you can connect the micro USB to transfer data or simply to charge it, as you may have already imagined. From this site, you can also remove the battery if you want or the memory card.

Something that has surprised us with good eyes in this regard is that the Gear 360 is a camera, yes, but at the same time, it looks really cool with this type of lens. If you have seen the others that we analyze on the blog, you will see that they are not so cool. The revealing light that lets you know which lenses you're wearing (front, back, or both) adds a bit of flair as you shoot. Enough to make it look good without being too much. But either way, fingerprints shouldn't be a problem.

In the event that you want to remove the three legs of the Samsung Gear 360, you can simply unscrew them so that it is simply in the shape of a ball. It is something you need to do in case you want to buy a mount or other tripod. When you have it folded there is a strange contrast that makes it appear small and thick at the same time, which makes it even more futuristic.

This camera also comes with its own bag, which we like, although it offers little protection, it is simply to carry around. And you already know that these cameras need some kind of lens protection. But as we have already mentioned a couple of times, you cannot easily put it in your pocket, so it makes sense that, by not being able to do so, it will be more protected in your backpack or purse, although it will never hurt to buy a protector.

Getting into hardware topics

Getting a little more technical with the Samsung Gear 360, we see that it is using its own DRIMe5s chip to process images. It has 1GB of RAM, and it initially comes with zero internal memory, so you will need a microSD card. The good thing is that Samsung knows that this is what 360-degree consumers want, because surely if Apple gets into this, there will be no slot to expand memory ... Be that as it may, it also comes with a relatively small battery but that for what you consume does the job well.

Small built-in screen

And you know what, there is a tiny screen, which is more functional than it appears. With it you can quickly see in the recording mode you are, and how much memory you have left. It's also good for seeing how much battery you have left, making it much easier to know when to charge. It seems silly, but it makes your life a lot easier, so it is a detail that we like.

With this display you can also change the mode with the camera buttons, using the screen itself to confirm if you are taking photos or recording video. Basically, you can record the way you want with Samsung Gear 360 degrees, either directly with the camera or using your smartphone.

This might be a bit tempting to buy the Gear even if you don't use a Samsung phone, but I don't think I would go that far personally. This 360 camera is good, but I don't know if it is enough to have to process videos and photos manually if you don't have a home phone.

But going back to the screen a bit before moving on to the next section, you have to be careful with it because it is quite sensitive to shocks. Some users have broken them on the first day. It is seen that the person in question dropped the Samsung Gear 360 accidentally (inside the bag, which you see does not protect anything). Keep in mind that if this happens, both the camera and the screen will work the same, but the plastic or protective glass is what breaks.

Gear 360 software, the best on the market

We can say without holding back that Samsung's software experience for the Gear 360 is the best on the market today. From the moment you download the Gear 360 Manager app, to plugging in the camera and starting to record or take photos, the manufacturer does it great.

The only thing that we may not have liked so much is that if, for example, you disconnect the camera from the phone before the application expects it, the app crashes. It seems to be fixed if you close it from the recent apps view, but it has happened to us a few times, so it's worth saying.

Updating the Samsung Gear 360

For a moment we will return to the software, and if for a moment during the review you have found that we have spoken too well of the aspect of the Gear 360, it is because we really have. We have tried other programs and ways of interacting with 360-degree videos and nothing comes close to this.

So far we come to update the firmware. You'll also do it through the Gear 360 Manager app, so it's okay that you don't have to download any separate programs to your computer. Also, you don't have to worry about plugging it in, so the fact that it has Wi-Fi will do a lot of good.

The firmware we've updated so far has weighed us less than 350 megabytes, and that's it. After downloading the update, the Samsung Gear 360 will update itself, and you can record again, nothing easier than this.