The Meta Quest v50 release seems promising, with direct tap and swipe supported by hand-tracking, in-game multitasking for Quest 2, hand-locomotion, and other features.
While certain features of the Quest v50 upgrade were already known courtesy to pictures released by Public Test Channel (PTC) users, Meta has disclosed several fascinating surprises in the official release notes.
The v50 software will be available for Quest 2 and Quest Pro headphones in a few weeks. Keep your device charged, turned on, and connected to Wi-Fi to ensure that you receive the update as soon as possible.
Direct Touch: go hands-on with controls
The most important feature of this new version is Direct Touch, which allows you to reach out and tap buttons and slide across panels exactly like on a tablet. The touch interface uses a virtual hand to interact with hand-tracking and controllers.
You may have noticed that you can tap the keys directly if you’ve used the Dash keyboard via Quest Link or Airlink. By the way, a new version of Dash may be in the works. The Quest keyboard is only available in standalone mode via a pointer with clicks on the controller or pinches with hand-tracking.
Direct Touch, as in real life, only works on adjacent things. This means you can use the keyboard and swipe through panels. When you move the windows to show three screens, you’ll still need to utilize the pointer control.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to text by swiping, but with touch now available, a swipe keyboard may be conceivable in the future.
When you receive the v50 update, you must enable Direct Touch on the Experimental Settings tab.
In-game multitasking for Quest 2
Meta Quest Pro owners have always appreciated the convenience of pausing to check up information in the browser without having to quit the game. This functionality is now being added to Quest 2.
This saves time since you don’t have to reload a game if you’re just using a 2D app, browsing the Quest store, or reading the Explore stream for news. To utilize any 2D program, tap the right Oculus button to open the system menu, then choose your game and continue when you’re ready.
Hand-locomotion gestures
Meta is introducing a new hand-locomotion gesture in v50, which may be tested in the most recent edition of the App Lab game First Hand. The present version of First Hand has a release date of August 2, 2022, implying that an upgrade is on the way.
Meta provided us a video that shows how the new Quest hand-locomotion system will function. Instead of sprinting with hands, as some games do, this looks to be a straight substitute for controller movement, allowing teleportation with a pinch or a side pinch motion to turn. This may be a good solution for future games that wish to employ hand-tracking. Having a uniform experience from game to game is typically preferable than having each developer come up with their own method for hand-tracking locomotion.
Fast switching: hand-tracking to controllers
While the once-exclusive Quest Pro multitasking capability is now available on the Quest 2, Quest Pro users will benefit from speedier switching between controllers and hands. According to Meta, the transition has been speed up by 50%.
This is a much-needed upgrade. The present latency is unpleasant, and it makes me want to stick with my hands or controllers rather than switching. It’s only a few seconds, yet it feels like an eternity.
Meta continues to improve its hardware via firmware upgrades, not just for the new Quest Pro, but also for the three-year-old Quest 2. The v50 software appears to make considerable improvements.
