We are upgrading all Simula One units to 13th Gen i7 Raptor Lake processors (formerly: 12th Gen Alder Lake).

1 Camera Boards

First, we wanted to show off some freshly assembled Simula One Camera Boards, which recently arrived from PCBA (used for Simula's AR Mode):

We're currently working on bringing them up, which is taking a bit more time than anticipated.

2 Intel NUC Discontinuation

The Simula One uses an Intel NUC as the basis for its detachable compute pack. Recently, Intel announced that it is discontinuing support for its NUC line:

We have decided to stop direct investment in the Next Unit of Compute (NUC) Business and pivot our strategy to enable our ecosystem partners to continue NUC innovation and growth. This decision will not impact the remainder of Intel’s Client Computing Group (CCG) or Network and Edge Computing (NEX) businesses. Furthermore, we are working with our partners and customers to ensure a smooth transition and fulfillment of all our current commitments – including ongoing support for NUC products currently in market. (Source: Intel)

In case there's any doubt, we just wanted to confirm that this discontinuation only affects future NUC platforms, and so won't affect the Simula One. In fact, because Intel recently released their 13th Gen NUCs, we are able to offer the small 12th Gen to 13th Gen upgrade to all outstanding Simula One units.

3 New Compute Specs Comparison

An overview of our new (vs. old) compute specs:

	Old Compute Specs	New Compute Specs
	Alder Lake (12th Gen)	Raptor Lake (13th Gen)
Manufacturer	Intel	Intel
Platform
	Linux	Linux
CPU	12th Gen Intel Core i7-1265U	13th Gen Intel Core i7-1365u
Cores	10 Processor Cores (2 “Performance Cores” + 8 “Efficiency Cores”)	10 Processor Cores (2 “Performance Cores” + 8 “Efficiency Cores”)
Threads	12 threads	12 threads
Cache	12MB L3 Cache	12MB L3 Cache
TDP	12W ~ 28W TDP	12W ~ 28W TDP
CPU Frequency	P-Cores: 1.8GHz ~ 4.8GHz Turbo; E-Cores: 1.3GHz ~ 3.6GHz Turbo	P-Cores: 1.8GHz ~ 5.2GHz Turbo; E-Cores: 1.3GHz ~ 3.9GHz Turbo
Memory Capacity	16 GB LPDDR5	16 GB LPDDR5
	32 GB LPDDR5 (Founders Edition & Upgrades)	32 GB LPDDR5 (Founders Edition & Upgrades)
Type of RAM	LPDDR5	LPDDR5
RAM Frequency	5200 MT/s	6000 MT/s
RAM Transfer Speed	83.2 GB/s	96 GB/s
GPU	Iris Xe graphics	Iris Xe graphics

1. Cores. 13th Gen CPUs retain the 8 "Efficiency Cores" (or "E-Cores") plus 2 "Performance Cores ("P-Cores").
2. Threads. Only the 2 P-Cores are hyperthreaded (supporting 2 threads per P-Core), while the 8 E-Cores remain single-threaded. This comes out to 12 threads in total ((2 threads * 2 P-Cores) + (1 thread * 8 E-Cores) = 12 threads).
3. CPU Frequency. Intel processors run at variable CPU frequencies, depending upon power availability and performance requirements. The new E-Cores run at a base frequency of 1.3 GHz, but can be turboed up to 3.9 GHz when needed. The P-Cores run faster: 1.8 GHz base frequency, or up to 5.2 GHz when turboed.
4. RAM. The upgrade retains LPDDR5 memory. Founders Edition and RAM upgraded headsets will retain doubled memory capacity (from 16GB to 32GB).
5. Graphics. The new CPU continues to use Intel Iris Xe for integrated graphics.