

After years of development kits and prototype demos, Oculus finally launched the first consumer version of its Rift VR headset in March. But even as a real product that people could purchase, the first consumer version of the Rift was incomplete when it launched. That's because, unlike competing high-end VR headsets like the HTC Vive and PlayStation VR, the Oculus Rift didn't have an integrated method to track your hands in virtual space.

To be sure, you can do plenty of fun things in virtual reality with the kind of standard, handheld, button-based controller that's been guiding games on 2D screens for decades. But when you're confronted with a stereoscopic 3D world that entirely surrounds you, as happens in the Rift headset, your first instinct is to reach out and touch the things in that world. As we noted with disappointment in our initial review of the Rift, without hand-tracking controllers, "this brave new display technology is a strictly 'look, don't touch” affair.'"

Now, after months of waiting, Oculus owners have the chance to pay $200 to indulge that "reach out and touch something" urge they've been suppressing for months. The wait may pay off in the long run, as the Oculus Touch controllers sport best-in-class comfort, excellent tracking, and a number of intriguing, exclusive games to show off that potential.

Unclench that fist

From the Nintendo Wii Remote to the PlayStation Move controller to the HTC Vive wand, major motion controllers have thus far been saddled with one major problem: the need to maintain a closed fist around the vaguely cylindrical piece of plastic in your hands. Yes, you might have some freedom to wiggle an index finger or thumb to tap a button or trigger, but with these controllers, the rest of your hand has to maintain a death grip around the base to avoid an accidental drop or throw (so many broken wrist straps...). With previous motion controllers, interacting with the virtual world is like poking around with a stick locked in a balled-up fist.

The Oculus Touch solves this with an ingenious design that curves in on itself a bit. The handle of the controller bends to sit somewhat beneath a large, flat surface that contains three thumb buttons and one analog stick per hand. This design balances the weight of the controller so it rests naturally in the top of the palm or the crook of your fingers, even if you hold it with a grip that would be loose enough to drop other controllers.

Unless you twist your wrist completely upside down, in fact, the Touch controller is difficult to drop, even intentionally. If you try to open your hand completely when holding the controller normally, your fingers will catch on the tracking ring and still support the controller's weight (the controller can still accidentally fly out of the top of your grip when making vigorous upward movements, though).























Three cheers for weak triggers One feature I've come to unexpectedly love on the Oculus Touch controllers is the way the trigger buttons under each index and ring finger have weak springs to push back against a full or even partial press. This limits the resistance you face when wiggling your finger on the analog triggers, making it that much easier to wiggle a virtual finger with a feather touch. The weak springs make keeping a consistent grip around, say, a virtual gun for a long period of time more comfortable and less bothersome. It's a small thing, but it's big enough that I now get upset when I have to squeeze hard on the strongly springed HTC Vive controller trigger.



This may sound like a small thing, but it makes a huge difference when you want to interact with the virtual world. With other motion controllers, you might awkwardly tap your trigger finger to mime picking something up, afraid that a larger motion will make the controller less secure in your hand. With the Touch controller, you can make a complete, natural grabbing motion, confident both that the light touch triggers under your index and ring fingers will catch the input and that the controller will stay stable. You won't forget the controller is there—you still feel the sometimes sweaty plastic in your palm—but you no longer have to worry about locking your fingers closed to support it as you twist and move your hand and fingers around.

The design of the Touch controller encourages this kind of finger wiggling, too, with built-in sensors that can partially detect where your fingers are even if you aren't pressing a button or trigger. It's a strictly digital feature (pun intended); either your finger is on the button, or it's off, with no in-between sensing. This can be off-putting in the virtual world, for instance, when your VR thumb snaps zombie-like from a "thumbs up" pose to a closed fist as you come to rest on the control stick. That said, the fact that the controller can detect a thumbs up motion at all—or an index finger point, for that matter—makes nonverbal communication and fine control that much better in VR.

About that second camera

I appreciate the inclusion of traditional analog sticks on the Touch controller surface. These sticks provide more tactile feedback than the featureless thumbpad on the HTC Vive controllers and much more precision than the tiny face buttons on PlayStation Move. You can feel for the buttons to the side of that analog stick without looking, though I found myself accidentally pausing my game by tapping the tiny menu button with the inside of my thumb.

For the most part, though, moving your hand through space with the Touch is the most intuitive and effective interface in virtual reality. Just pushing a virtual button, grabbing a virtual object, or twisting your virtual hand to guide a laser pointer (or gun barrel) offers much more flexibility than sticks or buttons ever could. For the most part, the tracking that allows for those kinds of hand movements is just as smooth and stable as it is for the Rift headset itself. Getting that smooth tracking, though, requires a second Oculus Camera, included in the $200 box with the controllers.