In addition to the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, Samsung also announced an extra-special accessory at its Unpacked event. The Gear 360 is Samsung's first action camera, and not content to compete with GoPro and other conventional models, the company designed a camera that records video in 360 degrees at once. This is achieved with a ball-like body design and two sensors, each paired to a fish eye lens that captures 180 degrees of action. The camera and Samsung's software then stitches the video together for easy 360-degree presentations and VR playback.

The Gear 360 isn't the first 360-degree camera on the market, but with Samsung's marketing muscle behind it (not to mention integration with the company's smartphones), it could become the most popular. All the expected bells and whistles are included: users can pair a Galaxy phone for an easy remote controller and viewfinder, or simply connect the camera to a Wi-Fi network and transfer stills and video to a local computer. The ball design is 66mm across at its thickest point, a little smaller than a tennis ball, and it weighs just 152 grams. Both the battery and the MicroSD storage can be swapped out.

Both lenses are 15MP and can record in single mode or 360-degree mode, and stills are no problem as well. The camera records at a maximum resolution of 3840x1920 (which is equal to 4K with a bit of a letterbox) and an F/2.0 aperture. The body is designed to be used freehand, with a tripod mount, or with one of the ubiquitous "action" camera mounts for sports footage. The Gear 360 should be able to take at least a bit of a beating, too: Samsung says it's resistant to dust and water, though an exact Ingress Protection rating wasn't mentioned.

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The Gear 360 will hit the market sometime in the second quarter of 2016. There's no word on a price.

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