Never wanting to be left out, it looks like Samsung could have a similar device in the works. The company has recently filed a trademark for the name “Gear 360” back in South Korea. Based on the Gear branding, it is definitely not a smartphone, and the 360 also seems to suggest that this could be some kind of camera.
We should point out that several years ago, Samsung showed off its Project Beyond, which was basically a prototype device that helped capture 360-degree video for the Gear VR headset. However given that it was only a prototype and as SamMobile points out, the Gear 360 could be the commercial and final version of it that will be available to the public for purchase.
In any case there are several 360-degree cameras available in the market right now, but with the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and the PlayStation VR all pegged for a release this year, we wouldn’t be surprised if other companies started ramping up their efforts to create more similar devices to perpetuate the virtual reality technology.