Sulon Q: World's first all-in-one VR headset packs built-in PC to rival Oculus Rift

A new rival to Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Microsoft HoloLens has been unveiled by Sulon Q and claims to be the world's first all-in-one headset to offer virtual reality, augmented reality and spatial computing straight out-of-the-box.

Shown off at the Game Developers Conference 2016 the AMD-powered headset features a built-in Windows 10 PC, meaning the device doesn't need to be tethered to another machine so you can freely immerse yourself in the virtual world without fear of yanking out cables.

This sets the Sulon Q apart from the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, both of which need to be hooked up to PCs in order to work. As a result, users will be also be able to jump into virtual or augmented reality straight away, without having to worry about compatible computer specifications or drivers. The device also features what Sulon is calling a "Spatial Processing Unit", which enables wearers to transition smoothly from real-world to AR/VR experiences. The video below shows a demonstration of what the experience is like.

Sulon Q: Specs

The Sulon Q is powered by a quad-core AMD FX-8800P processor and eight Radeon R7 graphics cores, which Sulon claims will offer "console-quality" graphics, as well as 8GB of RAM and a 256GB solid-state drive. While this isn't as high-end as what Oculus and HTC are offering, the Sulon Q does support the latest graphics APIs including DirectX 12, Open GL successor Vulkan, as well as AMD's own LiquidVR SDK technology, which reduces processing latency in order to deliver consistent frame rates. All of this will be delivered on two OLED displays offering a combined resolution of 2560x1440 – trumping that of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive – with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 110-degree field of view.

On the connectivity front, the Sulon Q features two USB 3.0 ports, microHDMI out, WiFi 801.11n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0. Meanwhile, a 3.5mm jack will deliver 3D spatial audio through a set of custom earbuds.

Sulon Q: Release date and pricing

Sulon and AMD haven't given any indication of when we might see the headset beyond a vague "late spring", meanwhile pricing info remains non-existent. Given the fact that the Sulon Q is essentially a full-blown PC you can strap to your head, we certainly don't expect it to come cheap, particularly if the price tags set by its rivals are anything to go by.