What’s worse your phone exploding on your nightstand? Your phone exploding directly into your eyes, mere inches from your face. So now that even replacement Galaxy Note7 phones have proven susceptible to combustion, Oculus has pushed out a forced update that blocks the Gear VR app from working with Samsung’s failed, fiery flagship.
Oculus handles the software inside Samsung’s Gear VR headset, which uses your phone for processing power and its display. The Gear VR app now displays the following message when you attempt to use it on a Galaxy Note7, as first reported by Android Central:
“Customer safety is Oculus' top priority. Oculus is removing support for all Note7 devices on the Oculus platform. Until further notice, Note7 devices will not be compatible with the Gear VR. For more information regarding the Note7, please contact Samsung directly.”
Some Reddit users aren’t happy about the ban, but this is no normal situation. Even before the official Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recall, the commission received nearly 100 reports of Galaxy Note7 batteries overheating, including 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage. Nevertheless, most U.S. users still swapped out their devices for another Note7 once replacements became available. Now that those replacements have begun burning down as well, Samsung’s halted all device sales and completely stopped Galaxy Note7 production.
The Galaxy Note7 is dead. You don’t want to go down with it, so props to Oculus for pulling the Gear VR app’s plug. All other VR-compatible Galaxy devices still work just fine with Samsung’s headset, so if this move bums you out, you could always replace your Note7 with a still superb (and not all all explodey) Galaxy S7. Then again, Google’s own Note7 rival—the Pixel XL—is on the brink of its own launch, complete with its own amped-up mobile VR solution.
