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Samsung’s next virtual reality headset will be 22% lighter, half the price

September 24, 2015
A visitor uses a Samsung virtual reality glasses during the Mobile World Congress Wireless show, the world's largest mobile phone trade show, in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A visitor uses a Samsung virtual reality glasses during the Mobile World Congress Wireless show, the world’s largest mobile phone trade show, in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, March 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Samsung says a new virtual reality headset will be 22 percent lighter and, at $99, half the price of its previous model.

The Gear VR also comes without a central strap that goes over the head, which the older device had.

The Korean electronics company hopes the changes to the Gear VR, which ships in November, will help push virtual reality into the mainstream.

Samsung vice president Peter Koo announced the headset Thursday at a developer’s conference for virtual reality technology company Oculus in Los Angeles. Facebook owns Oculus.

The Gear VR requires users to insert the latest version of a Samsung smartphone into the headset for it to work.