Oculus Revamps Controllers on Next-Gen VR Headset

Oculus VR today showed off its $199 standalone Oculus Go headset, but it also provided an update on its prototype virtual reality headset, codenamed "Santa Cruz," which will pack more power than the Go without the need to be tethered to a nearby PC.

Santa Cruz will use redesigned controllers with a touchpad that'll pave the way for developers to create even more content. Facebook-owned Oculus didn't provide a timeline for when Santa Cruz will be ready for primetime. But it will start shipping to developers some time next year, the company said at its Oculus Connect 4 event today.

Santa Cruz could be a big game changer for VR. Unlike the company's Oculus Rift headset, it doesn't rely on a PC to power the virtual reality content. Nor does it need any external sensors set up around the headset to track the user's position.

The Santa Cruz prototype has four sensors built into the headset.

To track the user's position, the Santa Cruz headset has four wide-angle sensors that are built on the edges of the visor itself. Those four sensors will also track the user's hand movements and the redesigned controllers, which remove the analog thumbsticks found on existing Oculus Touch controllers in favor for touchpads.

The touchpad "gives developers more flexibility to create great experiences in this new category," said Hugo Barra, Vice President of VR at Facebook, who spoke at the event on Wednesday.

The prototype does away with the thumbstick in favor of a touchpad.

The company has also repositioned the large "tracking ring" around the controller, making it easier for the Santa Cruz prototype to read the user's movements.

A year ago, the company showed an early prototype of Santa Cruz. At that point, along with the visor, it included a computer that strapped onto the back of the user's head. "Not quite a super ergonomic masterpiece," Barra quipped today. But Oculus VR has been working hard to polish the prototype; that computer now appears to be embedded inside the headset.

"You really want your hands in VR," Barra added. "You want that magic and freedom you get with touch."

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
Xbox 360 FTW
The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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