The implementation of hand tracking for Meta Quest 2 has improved fantastically since the original launch. It’s become more accurate, solved the issue of hand occlusion and much more. Basically, it’s far more practical to use. But it’s not perfect as recent articles like our Silhouette review a test. The biggest issue with hand tracking has always been speed; the inability to keep up with fast-moving gameplay. This is something Meta now claims to have improved upon. To showcase this, you’ll want to download Move Fast on Quest 2.
The thought of leaving Quest 2 controllers behind has always been an enticing one. There are multiple games and apps that use the system to varying degrees of practicality; Cubism, Little Cities, Litesport, VR Workout and The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets are just some examples. However, with the rollout of Quest’s v56 software update Meta’s adding Hand Tracking 2.2.
Quest Hand Tracking 2.2
What this equates to should be a smoother, more tactile experience. “[The update] focuses on hands responsiveness, bringing the experience closer to controllers.,” states Meta in a blog post. “This includes up to 40% latency reduction in typical usage and up to 75% during fast movement. We’ve also made additional improvements to make fast-paced games even more responsive.”
Now this is a big deal. More responsive hand tracking could make the feature far more attractive to developers. Furthermore, everyone in VR has had hand tracking on their mind since the Apple Vision Pro announcement. The $3499 headset due out in 2024 doesn’t have any physical controllers, so hand tracking is the primary input.
Helping show off the 2.2 update Meta has created an App Lab demo app, Move Fast on Quest 2. Essentially a rhythm-action fitness game similar to FitXR’s boxing studio, Move Fast offers four songs to chop, block and punch your way through. It’s free and its meant to be a proper game, just a demonstration that speedy rhythm action titles could now employ hand tracking.
We’ve yet to test it for ourselves as the v56 update hasn’t arrived just yet. We’re excited for when it does.
What’s your opinion of Quest’s hand tracking? Love it hate it, let us know in the comments below.