Meta Quest VR is improving hand tracking and adding system-level live captions

Meta’s latest update, v56, for its Quest VR headsets will be added many welcome upgradesIncluding improved hand tracking, system-level live captions, and the return of livestreaming to Facebook.

The improved hand tracking, which Meta is calling Hand Tracking 2.2, focuses on “hand feedback” to “bring the experience closer to controllers” and help show it, the company released As part of its App Lab. Meta is also adding swipe typing to its virtual keyboard, which could be an easier way to spell things out than searching for and pecking at virtual keys in the air.

I tried out the hand tracking and Meta’s Direct Touch technology on the Quest 2 earlier this year, and although it was fairly complex, I thought it was still an impressive way to navigate around the Quest’s UI. With these hand-tracking improvements, the Meta is almost certainly trying to show what’s possible on its devices ahead of the launch of Apple’s comparably more expensive Vision Pro.

As far as Live Captions go, Meta says you can use them in Meta Quest TV (an app for watching VR video content), Explore, and the Meta Quest Store. “Our goal is to improve usability and create a positive experience for everyone, as well as increase accessibility for those who are hard of hearing or deaf,” Meta said in a blog post. The company is going to “explore” to bring it to “other experiences” going forward. But it’s not the only accessibility-focused update: v56 will also let you remap the buttons on your controller.

Meta is also adding back the ability to livestream to Facebook from your Quest headset, following the company The feature was removed two years ago, “Due to popular demand, the livestreaming feature on Facebook was redesigned to be as intuitive and easy to use as possible, with high-quality video output and constant access to the live chat panel so you can stay in touch with your friends. You go about your stream, said Meta. The feature will “roll out gradually”, according to the company.

And there’s one v56 feature I’m particularly excited for: automatic updates when your Quest headset is charging. According to Meta, “Now, when your headset is charging, it will automatically power on and perform seamless app and OS updates and cloud backups so you can get back to work with as little friction as possible.”

In full v56 release notesMeta says the update will be rolling out “gradually” starting the week of July 24th.