Meta Quest Users Can Now Shift And Join VR Without Controller

Meta Quest presents the Direct Touch feature (photo: Meta)

JAKARTA - Meta will add a new capability that allows Meta Quest users to be able to swipe or tap on VR without using a controller.

Meta first introduced hand tracking to the Meta Quest Platform in December 2019, and in the following years the company launched its controllerless Meta Quest interface pinching capability.

"But pinching moves are a bit abstract, isn't it? When we use our hands to reach and tap the floating menu. Slide through our library like we did on a phone or tablet," the company wrote in its announcement.

Now on @MetaQuestVR, you can use your fingers 👉 — instead of controllers — to swipe through the #vr interface.Learn more about our latest Meta Quest software update: https://t.co/czqTNSa4xE pic.twitter.com/oTr3paEGcH

— Meta Newsroom (@MetaNewsroom) February 21, 2023

With v50, Meta launched a new experimental setup called Direct Touch that brings the Meta Quest 2 and Pro closer to a more intuitive direct future.

Meta adds, by activating Direct Touch, you can tap the button with your index finger to customize settings or select a game from the library, type messages quickly on the virtual keyboard, and much more.

Direct Touch is a huge improvement in our hand tracking technology, offering a more intuitive and interesting way to interact with 2D systems and panels in general," he continued.

Not only that, the tech giant is also introducing a new gesture for hand-based moves, which you can try in the latest version of First Hand. You will find the Direct Touch feature under your Experimental Settings tab.

On the other hand, Meta will provide a custom v50 feature for the Touch Pro controller by reducing the amount of time it takes tracking to initialize the Meta Quest Touch Pro controller.

In other words, your controller will respond more quickly when it first installs a headset, and every time you switch from hand tracking to controller. It's not certain when this upgrade will come, but the company says it will come in the near future.