Sulon Q: An x86 Competitor Enters Mobile VR

The discussion of mobile VR has been widely limited to Samsung and its Gear VR solutions – in no small part due to its partnership with Oculus. Other players, like IonVR and LG, have jumped into the fray this year but not much has shifted the discussion away from Samsung.

Sulon Technologies, a Toronto-based tech startup, feels that there’s an opportunity for x86-based solutions in the mobile VR scene — and so it announced on Monday the Sulon Q. If Sulon sounds familiar it may be due to the fact they have been working in the VR/AR scene for several years. During GDC 2014 Sulon announced the Sulon Cortex, an Android-supported headset that also targeted VR/AR. Demonstrations were provided for the model in 2015.

The Sulon Q is designed for both mobile VR and AR as well as spatial computing, which combined could give it an edge over the Gear if it can pull it off as well as the press release suggests. But equally important is the fact that the Sulon Q is a full-fledged PC, meaning it would have at its disposal most x86 applications available already in Windows. Since it’s self-contained and battery-powered, that makes it a mobile competitor.

• AMD FX-8800P processor (quad core CPU, graphics comparable to R7 GCN graphics)
• Sulon’s Spacial Processing Unit (SPU), a set of technologies to provide real-time virtualization of an environment and supporting the AR functions.
• 8 GB RAM
• 256 GB SSD
• 802.11ac & Bluetooth
• 2 USB 3.0, Micro HDMI, 3.5 mm jack
• Estimated power draw of 35W
• 2560×1440 90Hz OLED display (110 degree Field-of-View)
• Sensor package (Accelerometer, Gyro, Magnetometer, Spacial Mapping/Tracking)

Pricing was not available nor was an exact launch date, though the press release suggests it will be out late spring. Given the hardware expected in there we would suspect this won’t be towards the inexpensive side of the spectrum. There are other questions that remain for us as well. What is the battery life on the Sulon Q? Does the Q indicate a shift away from the Cortex and ARM design? The target audience for the Sulon Q is mentioned for both consumers and professionals so it’s possible this might be a higher end device, while the Cortex would be targeted towards consumers.  In any case we’ve reached out to Sulon for additional information and to see whether the Q means a shift away from the Cortex or if both will continue development.

Want to see more pictures of the headset? Take a look at the sneak peak from Sulon! And stay tuned to further developments from GDC 2016!

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