As the Quest ecosystem evolves, so does the number of inputs available to users. With the growing adoption of hand input, the demand is present for intuitive system control with hands. Previously, Quest has leveraged a gesture-based Quick Action Menu, which allows users to access common actions via a sequence of hand gestures.

For a lightweight alternative, users can now quickly access primary actions with minimal effort via virtual wrist buttons. The user has two virtual buttons, placed where the wrist and the palm of the hand meet, which provide commonly used shortcuts. The user interacts with the buttons via direct touch, pressing directly on the button with their opposing finger.

In the default arrangement, the wrist button on the user’s right arm is the Meta button and the button on the left wrist is the App Settings button. This creates parity to the Quest hardware controllers, allowing users to quickly access familiar controller actions with hands input.

The Quick Action Menu is still available to users to enable in the System Settings.

There are two interactions to perform on the Meta wrist button and only one interaction to perform on the secondary wrist button.

A single tap or press can be performed on both wrist buttons, while a long press can only be performed on the Meta wrist button.

The presses can only be performed by the opposing hand’s index finger.

In addition to the direct interaction, single-handed use is available to the user. See description in Accessibility section.

Currently, the Meta wrist button is limited to two actions. The two actions are the most commonly used by Quest user while interacting with hands input:

The wrist button appears in 2 opposing forms, a button on the user’s primary arm’s wrist and the user’s secondary arm’s wrist.

There are two interactions to perform on the Meta wrist button and only one interaction to perform on the secondary wrist button.

A single tap or press can be performed on both wrist buttons, while a long press can only be performed on the Meta wrist button.

The both press interactions can only be performed by the opposing hand’s index finger.

In addition to the direct interaction, single-handed use is available to the user. See description in Accessibility section below.

If it’s not comfortable for users to perform interactions with two hands, the actions can be performed with a single hand. With the conditions met to make the wrist button appear, the user can pinch their index finger and thumb together and perform both wrist button actions. The user can perform a quick pinch to have the same effect as a short press or a long pinch to have the same effect as a long press. The actions of show / hide system UI and recentering will occur respectively.

Depending on which hand performs the single-hand interaction (pinch), the corresponding wrist button action(s) will occur. (Dominant hand performs the pinch, Meta wrist button action is called)

The user can interact with the wrist button only when it is visible. There are several heuristics defining when and how the wrist button is available to the user. A balance is struck between discoverability and proper interaction while minimizing false positives and disrupting immersive applications.

The following conditions are cumulative and must all be met for the wrist button to appear.

A balance between not occupying too much real estate on the user’s wrist and providing an adequate hit target and interaction affordance was struck through many rounds of user testing. The wrist button size remains constant to provide proper affordance as an interactive surface and not distract the user with variations in scale when not the focus of the experience.

The size and hit target of the button encourage accurate and successful interactions while not becoming so large that it interferes with avatar embodiment or intersects with virtual clothing:

The placement of the button is optimized for ease of access. Placed just above where the user’s wrist meets their palm, the position avoids the real-world obstructions, such as jewelry or bulky clothing and minimizes potential intersections with the user’s virtual embodiment, their avatar.

After a few interactions with the button, muscle memory builds allowing the user to interact with minimal effort and cognitive load.

It’s important to note, the position of the wrist button does not shift, nor is adjustable. If the button was to shift, previously created proprioception would be unhelpful to the user.

The system wrist buttons are designed to be cohesive to the Quest Design System visual styling and reflect the same interaction affordances and feedback. While aligning to the system visual standards, accommodations have been made to ensure the button reads well across a variety of avatars, contexts, and environments.

With the portable size of the button, retaining legibility of icons and adequate contrast ratio for accessibility were key considerations in testing with users.

Below is a list of our recommended practices when using the wrist buttons in an immersive experience: