Virtual reality stole the show at the Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event Sunday, on the eve of this week’s Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain.

Samsung Electronics used its Galaxy Gear VR headset to unveil its latest flagship smartphone Galaxy S7 and its Edge variant and Gear 360, a VR camera. 

Some 5,000 journalists and industry watchers were invited for an immersive VR demo presenting Samsung’s new products.

The new phones have been refashioned with metal, curved styling. They come with enhanced camera functions and increased battery life, and, among other things, they are waterproof.

The Gear 360 is a tiny, double-lensed sphere of a camera that allows shooting and sharing 360-degree photos and videos.

Then, when audience members took off the headsets, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a surprise appearance on the stage. The Gear VR uses Facebook’s Oculus Rift technology.

“VR is going to be the most social platform. ... Gear VR is by far the best mobile VR experience,” he said.

“And that’s because it combines the best hardware, from Samsung, with the best software -- from Facebook, with Oculus.”

With the smartphone market fast saturating, Samsung has been seeking new growth engines and VR is one of the key businesses.

The whole VR market may be in its infancy, but its growth potential seems huge considering its diverse adoption across industries.

In order to fully enjoy VR content, smartphones, PCs and laptops should be upgraded in the next few years. According to global chipmaker Nvidia, less than 1 percent of today’s PCs support VR content properly.

That’s why Samsung, whose product portfolio includes not just devices but also components such as chips, is pinning high hopes on VR under the leadership of vice chairman and heir apparent Lee Jae-yong.

The company has teamed up with Facebook to make the VR headset, and customers have responded positively. The latest $99 Gear VR sold out in two days on Amazon during the holiday season.

Other than hardware, the company is also pouring considerable resources into securing VR content. The company invested $6 million in VR animation studio Baobab and, more recently, $25 million into U.S. VR start-up Wevr.

“At a time when the mobile industry is facing a turning point, Samsung will offer more diverse devices and services other than smartphones,” said Koh Dong-jin, Samsung’s new mobile chief who made his MWC debut Sunday.

“We will continue to lead the market by paying more attention to customer needs.”

Goldman Sachs recently predicted virtual reality, coupled with augmented reality, would become an $80 billion industry by 2025, possibly overtaking the TV market by 2026.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)