Samsung buys Joyent - virtual reality on cloud computing background

Summary

• Samsung, cloud computing for better VR content
• A new age for virtual reality on mobile?

The imminent launch of Google's virtual reality headset, the Daydream, completely revives competition in the mobile VR sector. It will now be a question of differentiating yourself by offering more content, better graphics and increasingly accessible prices. This is undoubtedly the reason why Samsung, the Korean leader in the mobile market, this month acquired Joyent, an American firm specializing in cloud computing.

But then, you will tell me, what is the connection with virtual reality. If we are to believe the Wall Street Journal, Samsung would not plan to compete with cloud computing players that are Amazon Web Service, Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure, but would nurture completely different ambitions.

Samsung, cloud computing for better VR content

Injong Rhee, director of mobile technology at the Korean company, justifies the acquisition of Joyent, by a desire to make cloud computing technology coincide with that of virtual reality. In other words, Samsung wants some of the power needed to run virtual reality apps to be delivered remotely, through the cloud.

This means that in the relatively near future, the manufacturer will be able to offer larger and therefore necessarily richer VR applications, further ensuring a clear advantage over its competitors in the mobile sector. Indeed, by capturing Joyent's know-how, Samsung will be able to further optimize the performance and graphics of its VR content, without pushing our beloved smartphones to their limits.

A new age for virtual reality on mobile?

A question remains, however. It is now clearly established that the inconveniences related to the use of virtual reality headsets (nausea, discomfort, dizziness, etc.) come from the "lag" or the time lag between the movements of our head and the display of the device used. Their manufacturers have succeeded over the years in minimizing this phenomenon, but it will again pose a problem because remote hosting generally poses problems of instantaneity. Samsung and Joyent will need to make this factor a priority in the early stages of their collaboration.

Still, Samsung has just made a decisive decision in the race for virtual reality. It remains to be seen how Google, which has just introduced its own headset, will retaliate. In addition, we do not yet know what in store for us Apple, which will certainly not abandon this sector to its rivals. It will certainly take several years for the Korean giant to develop a technology that combines VR and cloud computing, but this innovation will undoubtedly bring virtual reality on mobile phones into a new era.