Oculus Quest gets an update that lets users play games and navigate menus without controllers

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When Oculus first announced hand tracking was coming to the Oculus Quest a few months ago, the feature was supposed to arrive next year. Well, Oculus managed to grab something from thin air because the hand tracking feature is rolling out this week for consumers and next week as an SDK for developers.

There’s going to be a lot of virtual handwaving in the future…

Hand tracking is rolling out to the Oculus Quest

To start, only the Quest’s Home interfaces like Library and Store will support hand tracking and some first-party apps like Oculus TV and Oculus Browser. More features will be added going through 2020.

This is a huge deal, as prior to this VR needed clunky controllers to put your hands into VR space. That meant confusing button layouts, especially as every VR headset maker had their own take on what a controller should do.

More about the Oculus update:

• Hand tracking reduces the barriers to VR, by letting users use the most natural controllers there are
• The SDK will allow developers to create controller-free experiences
• Oculus also released Link for the Quest last month, which lets Quest users connect their headset to the PC to play the library of Rift titles

This update might seem small in scope right now, but it really opens the door to the immersive VR experiences we were promised decades ago.

What do you think? Interested in trying these new features out for Oculus Quest? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.