Valve debuts Knuckles EV3 controllers, boosting battery before release

Valve has been publicly working on finger-tracking Knuckles VR controllers for long enough that the word “new” doesn’t seem appropriate any more, even though they haven’t yet shipped to consumers. Now the developer has debuted yet another version, Knuckles EV3, with a series of small but welcome improvements that users will appreciate whenever they become broadly available.

The biggest improvement to Knuckles EV3 is in battery life — sensor efficiency improvements led to a two-hour boost, equating to a total of between seven and eight hours of use per charge. Valve also improved the triggers for greater reliability, calibrated grip force sensors for consistency across units, and recessed both the system button and USB port for ergonomic reasons.