Design

Touch best practices

Updated: Mar 13, 2026

Best practices

Simulate surface solidity	Use touch limiting to prevent the virtual hand from clipping into panels or objects, which improves user confidence and mimics real-world physics.
Leverage visual dominance	Dissociate the virtual hand from the physical hand's exact position when in contact with a surface. Visual feedback can override proprioception to make interactions "look right".
Index-first design	Encourage direct selection with the index finger to mirror natural touch behavior and avoid accidental triggers from self-occluded fingers.
Add surface friction	Implement position pinning to add a dynamic dead zone to the touch point, mimicking surface friction and adding controllability to poke interactions.
Expand functionality	Incorporate familiar mobile patterns like scrolling and long press to provide a versatile and familiar interaction set.

Long press implementation

When implementing long press interactions, follow these timing guidelines:

Press delay: Set a press delay (for example, 0.5 seconds) before activating the long-press action, ensuring users have time to intentionally perform the gesture.

Early release: If the user releases their finger before the press delay is met, register the action as a short tap or press, not a long press.

Click cooldown: Use a click cooldown of 0.25 seconds for long-press buttons, matching the behavior of regular button interactions to prevent rapid, unintended activations.

DO Use long press to close interaction gaps with Android apps. Implement long-press functionality to provide familiar interactions for users transitioning from mobile platforms, especially when replicating secondary actions.

DON'T Rely on long press as the primary interaction for VR-native experiences. Avoid using long press as the main method for critical actions in VR, as it is less discoverable and may not be as enjoyable as interactions designed specifically for immersive environments.

Dos and don’ts

Below is a list of recommended practices when using touch in your immersive experience:

DO Use touch limiting to prevent the virtual hand from intersecting with the panel or virtual object, improving the UX.

DON'T Make interactive elements too small or closely packed, as this can lead to accidental pokes or missed interactions. Use a minimum target size of 22mm x 22mm with a minimum of 12mm spacing between interactables.

DO Incorporate scrolling and long press functionalities where appropriate to expand interaction capabilities.

DON'T Rely solely on poke. Consider combining it with indirect interactions like ray casting for targeting and pinch for selection. Pinching is a different gesture and should not be used for direct touch interactions. Reserve direct touch for index finger contact only.

DO Use clear and consistent visual and audio feedback when an object is poked to confirm successful interaction.

DON'T Enable poke for other fingers besides the index finger, which suffer from lower accuracy due to self-occlusion when tracking.

DO Dissociate the virtual hand from the physical hand using limiting techniques. This helps simulate the confidence and feedback users expect from real-world haptic surfaces, making virtual interactions feel more reliable.

DON'T Place touchable elements in unnatural or hard-to-reach locations. Avoid positioning UI elements where users wouldn't naturally reach or where it feels awkward to interact, as this breaks immersion and usability.

DO Encourage direct touch selection with the index finger. Design your UI so that selection occurs only when the fingertip is actually touching the interface. This mirrors natural touch behavior and avoids confusion with gestures like pinching.

DO Place direct touchable elements on natural, manipulatable surfaces. Position buttons and interactive elements where users would intuitively expect to reach and touch, inviting tactile engagement and making the experience more immersive.