Nolo Sonic 2
More actions
| Nolo Sonic 2 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Basic Info | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Type | Head-mounted display |
| Subtype | Standalone VR |
| Developer | NOLO[1] |
| Manufacturer | NOLO |
| Announcement Date | 6 January 2023 (CES 2023)[2] |
| Website | https://www.nolovr.com/En/s2 |
| Predecessor | Nolo Sonic |
| System | |
| Operating System | Lingdie XR OS (NOLO's own operating system)[1] |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2[3] |
| Display | |
| Display | Single LCD binocular |
| Resolution | 1832x1920 per-eye |
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz |
| Image | |
| Field of View | 92° diagonal |
| Optics | |
| Optics | Pancake lenses[3] |
| Ocularity | Binocular |
| IPD Range | 58-68 mm |
| Tracking | |
| Tracking | 6DoF inside-out, four cameras plus infrared[4] |
| Hand Tracking | Yes |
| Audio | |
| Audio | Spatial audio |
| Microphone | Three microphones with noise reduction[2] |
| Device | |
| Input | 6DoF controllers with five-finger recognition; hand gestures |
Nolo Sonic 2 is a virtual reality head-mounted display announced in 2023. It is a standalone headset made by NOLO, a Beijing company that uses the English name Beijing Lingyu Intelligent Control Technology Co., Ltd.[5][6] NOLO announced the headset at CES 2023 in Las Vegas on 6 January 2023, together with the Nolo VR Glass, and said both would be available in February 2023.[2][7]
The Sonic 2 succeeds the original Nolo Sonic. According to the Chinese XR outlet 青亭AI, the first Sonic combined two cameras with ultrasonic positioning for 6DoF tracking, while the Sonic 2 moved to four cameras plus infrared (IR) positioning and added five-finger tracking.[4] It runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 and uses pancake optics.[3] A small color screen on the back of the head strap shows the battery level and other status information.[2]
Design
NOLO's launch announcement described the Sonic 2 as having "an extremely streamlined profile, an ultra-comfortable headband, and an industry-exclusive sub-screen on the back of the headband".[2][8] Chinese trade coverage of the CES reveal noted that the headset is noticeably thinner and lighter than the first-generation Sonic,[7] and Shenzhenware reported that its body is much smaller than its predecessor's.[3]
The rear sub-screen is a customizable color display. NOLO lists four uses for it: checking the battery level in real time, logging in to an account by scanning a QR code, tracking calories burned during exercise, and scanning to pay for purchases.[6][1] The launch press release adds time remaining and game highlights.[2]
NOLO also lists a user-configurable button for shortcuts such as screen recording, screenshots and sharing.[1]
Specifications
| Component | Specification |
|---|---|
| Display | Single LCD binocular; NOLO's press release describes "high-density LCD screens"[2] |
| Resolution | 1832x1920 per-eye (maximum 3664 x 1920 combined, per NOLO)[2] |
| Refresh Rate | 120 Hz maximum;[2] NOLO's Chinese product page describes a dynamic frame rate of 90-120 Hz[1] |
| Field of View | 92° diagonal (NOLO states a 92-degree field of view)[2] |
| IPD Range | 58-68 mm |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2[3] |
| Optics | Pancake[3] |
| Tracking | Inside-out 6DoF, four cameras plus IR[4] |
| Audio | Integrated spatial audio system[2] |
| Microphones | Three, with noise reduction[2] |
| Operating system | Lingdie XR OS (灵蝶XR OS)[1] |
Display
NOLO calls the Sonic 2's picture "4K" and lists several changes from the previous generation: reduced glare, improved anti-aliasing and a higher eye-buffer rendering resolution. The company claims a 49% reduction in color error and a 20% increase in color saturation over its predecessor.[1] The panels run at a maximum of 120 Hz,[2] and the Chinese product page describes a dynamic frame rate between 90 and 120 Hz intended to balance power consumption against smoothness.[1]
Tracking and input
Positional tracking
The Sonic 2 uses NOLO's own 6DoF spatial positioning technology, which the company brands StarTraq. NOLO describes it as having sub-millimeter precision and millisecond response times. The product page gives the controller tracking coverage as 250 degrees horizontally and 210 degrees vertically, and says the vertical positioning range is 50% larger than the previous generation's.[6][1] 青亭AI reported that the system uses four cameras and IR, replacing the camera and ultrasonic approach of the first Sonic.[4]
Five-finger controllers
The Sonic 2's controllers recognize each of the user's fingers. NOLO describes this as the first five-finger recognition in the all-in-one VR headset category, and says an AI algorithm simulates hand poses for actions such as throwing and grasping.[6] According to 青亭AI, the controllers contain pressure sensors that make the five-finger touch input possible.[4] The Chinese product page adds that the controllers have straps to stop them slipping, so that users can open their hands to throw or grab objects.[1] In his CES 2023 roundup, the XR blogger Skarredghost noted that NOLO was announcing the Sonic 2, "whose controllers can sense all five fingers of the user".[9]
Hand tracking
The headset also supports controller-free hand tracking. Shenzhenware reported in February 2023 that users can point, press, pinch, drag and swipe with bare hands. NOLO trained a purpose-built deep neural network on millions of hand images, combining real photographs with 3D-generated ones, and optimized the network so that recognizing a single frame takes less than 5 ms on the Snapdragon XR2. The recognized hand poses are passed to the graphics engine through the GSXR protocol, and NOLO said it would open the technology to more partners.[3] System-level gestures (point-touch, drag and pinch) can trigger screenshots, screen recording, casting and position resets without a controller.[6] Chinese coverage of the CES reveal listed dragging, pulling, zooming, tapping, pinching, throwing and grabbing among the recognized actions.[7]
Software
The Sonic 2 runs Lingdie XR OS (灵蝶XR OS), an operating system NOLO developed itself. NOLO's product page describes these features:[1]
- Layered interface panels whose position and size the user can adjust.
- A system navigation bar that can be opened while an app or game is running.
- Mixed reality recording with preview and export.
- Screen casting to smart TVs, computers, phones and iPads; casting to phones and iPads requires the Lebo casting TV app.
- Automatic detection of video formats: 2D, top-bottom and side-by-side 3D, 180-degree and 360-degree video, and fisheye panoramas.
- A browser with WebXR support, so panoramic web content plays without an extra app or plug-in.
Games and PC streaming
NOLO says more than 160 games can be played on the headset out of the box and that new titles are added continuously.[6][1] Through NOLO's NOLO HOME software, the Sonic 2 can stream SteamVR games from a PC over a cable or wirelessly. NOLO puts that library at more than 7,000 titles and names Half-Life: Alyx, Beat Saber and Blade & Sorcery as examples.[1]
Availability
NOLO's January 2023 announcement said the Sonic 2 would be available in February 2023.[2] In May 2024, an OFweek VR commentary on the Chinese VR market, written around Counterpoint Research's 2023 shipment figures, said that the Sonic 2 and Sonic 2 Pro did not appear to have gone on general sale, so NOLO's sales still relied mainly on older products such as the original NOLO Sonic. The article also pointed to the NOLO Ring, a wearable interaction ring NOLO had launched the previous year.[10]
Sonic 2 Pro
NOLO showed the Sonic 2 Pro, a mixed reality version of the headset, at CES 2024 in January 2024. It adds dual full-color video see-through passthrough using 32-megapixel, 90 Hz cameras and has three-element pancake optics. Its display supports a resolution of 4560 x 2280 at 1512 PPI. NOLO's CES 2024 press release gave a hand-tracking positioning accuracy of 10 mm and listed a removable battery.[11][12]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 "NOLO SONIC2". NOLO (Chinese official site). Beijing Lingyu Intelligent Control Technology Co., Ltd.. https://www.nolovr.com/s2. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 "NOLO Unveils Two Game-changing VR Headset Models- HMD That Wears Like Glasses, 6DoF VR Headset With Hand and Finger Tracking". Yahoo Finance. ACCESSWIRE (NOLO press release). 2023-01-06. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nolo-unveils-two-game-changing-190000782.html. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 达达 (2023-02-07). "NOLO SONIC 2 VR 一体机支持手势追踪，仅双手即可执行点、按、捏等操作". Shenzhenware. https://www.shenzhenware.com/articles/15930. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "CES 2023：NOLO发布光学Inside-Out VR一体机SONIC 2". 青亭AI (NetEase). 2023-01-06. https://www.163.com/dy/article/HQEA6PVJ0511BQR8.html. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "Beijing Lingyu Intelligent Control Technology Co., Ltd". NOLO (English official site). https://www.nolovr.com/En. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "NOLO SONIC2". NOLO (English official site). Beijing Lingyu Intelligent Control Technology Co., Ltd.. https://www.nolovr.com/En/s2. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "直击CES 2023！NOLO携2款新品首发亮相". 艾邦AR/VR网. 2023-01-06. https://www.abvr360.com/a/12398. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ Gavin Sheehan (2023-01-08). "NOLO Reveals New VR Glass During CES 2023". Bleeding Cool. https://bleedingcool.com/games/nolo-reveals-new-vr-glass-during-ces-2023/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ Skarredghost (2023-01-19). "All the best AR/VR news from CES 2023". The Ghost Howls. https://skarredghost.com/2023/01/19/best-ar-vr-news-ces-2023/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ VRAR星球 (2024-05-23). "崩！中国VR市场年出货量同比暴跌超过五成，但希望仍在". OFweek VR网. https://vr.ofweek.com/news/2024-05/ART-81500-8420-30635700.html. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "NOLO MR新品NOLO SONIC2 Pro首发亮相". 映维网 (Nweon). NOLO press release. 2024-01-10. https://news.nweon.com/116798. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "NOLO 携 VR 一体机 Sonic 2 Pro、新一代 NOLO Ring 亮相 CES 2024". Shenzhenware. 2024-01-05. https://www.shenzhenware.com/news/2107. Retrieved 2026-09-27.