Initial Reactions to ‘Surreal Touch’ Third-Party Vision Pro Controllers

Surreal Touch is a third-party motion controller for Vision Pro that got its start on Kickstarter. The first batch shipped out in December as planned, and people are now sharing their initial thoughts.

Among those first to receive the controllers was Nima Zeighami, a well-known figure in the XR industry and creator of the Vision Pro Owners Club on Twitter. As backer #130, he helped the Kickstarter project raise $127,000. Zeighami was generous enough to share his early experiences with us.

The Surreal Touch controllers use built-in cameras to track movements, similar to Meta’s Touch Pro controllers. While an SDK is on the horizon for developers to create VisionOS apps that support the controllers directly, there’s also software for Windows that allows users to stream PC VR content to Vision Pro. This feature lets you enjoy SteamVR games with proper controller support right from the start.

Zeighami highlighted the ease of streaming PC VR content using Surreal’s proprietary software, which includes the Surreal Link app for Vision Pro and the Surreal Streamer app for PC. He praised the swift 10-minute setup to start playing SteamVR games with these controllers. “Surreal Link offered the most seamless and frictionless wireless VR experience I’ve encountered,” he mentioned. Once everything was set up, it only took about a minute to jump back into SteamVR content with the controllers, leaving him impressed with the software’s performance.

“The magic of Surreal Touch is really in the software experience more than the hardware or tracking quality,” he remarked. He emphasized how delivering a high-end motion controller is a massive task, but creating hassle-free wireless VR streaming software that actually works might be even more remarkable.

However, there are concerns with the controllers’ tracking accuracy. Zeighami found the latency acceptable but noted issues with positional accuracy. “Surreal claims less than 10mm positional accuracy and less than 1° rotational accuracy. While I didn’t face issues with rotational accuracy, I frequently encountered positional accuracy problems, sometimes the position drifted significantly, especially in challenging environments like a featureless white ceiling or a glossy black TV screen. Issues also arose when the cameras were blocked by my hand or other objects,” he explained.

Zeighami likened the tracking to the original Magic Leap, which also struggled with similar issues. “In most situations, Surreal Touch works fine, but expect some jitter and drift, which impacts precision gaming and professional creative tools.”

The build quality, on the other hand, was appreciated. “They’re not too heavy, and the joystick, buttons, and triggers feel great,” he noted, despite some minor imperfections. “There are some engineering oversights, like misaligned plastic on the left controller and creaky grip triggers.” Additionally, the lack of capacitive sensing for tracking the user’s touch on buttons and sticks was a notable absence, though not critical as many VR contents don’t use this feature.

While streaming PC VR is seamless, using the controllers with VisionOS presents challenges. VisionOS doesn’t naturally accommodate controllers, which means using them involves a “cursor mode”. This mode uses the controller’s rotation to move an on-screen cursor instead of acting like a traditional VR laser pointer. Additionally, performing the ‘Home’ action isn’t possible with the controllers alone. Users need to either use the button on the headset or let the controller dangle from the wrist strap to use the VisionOS gesture.

As it stands, there aren’t any VisionOS apps that natively support these controllers, and Zeighami predicts this will remain the case. The target audience for such apps is too niche. “The appeal here is mainly for SteamVR users, so don’t expect a sudden surge in Vision Pro games supporting these controllers,” he cautioned.

Looking ahead, there is potential for Surreal Touch to become an ‘open’ third-party controller for a variety of VR headsets, as they use their own tracking system without needing proprietary algorithms. However, the company hasn’t released a native SDK for broader use yet, making this possibility a distant dream.

On a positive note, Surreal Touch managed on-time delivery, which stands out in a landscape where many Kickstarter projects experience significant delays. For a fledgling company, launching a timely product is commendable.

Zeighami also pondered the value the Surreal Touch controllers bring at their $300 price point. “Is it worth $300 for controllers just for SteamVR on Apple Vision Pro? Yes, without a doubt. This advantage is more about Vision Pro itself, but older VR games look phenomenal on Apple Vision Pro compared to Quest 3’s top-tier titles.”

“So, if you’re someone who chose Vision Pro over Quest or owns both and plans to dive deep into PC VR experiences like VRChat, Half-Life: Alyx, Resonite, Boneworks, Skyrim VR, Fallout 4 VR, etc., Surreal Touch is the straightforward choice,” Zeighami suggested. Despite some tracking concerns and the room for improvement in overall experience quality, he still believes they deliver a fantastic gaming experience, making it a must-have for anyone eager to explore the SteamVR world on their Apple Vision Pro.