Oculus Touch charging station is a neat fix for a ridiculous design problem

The Oculus Touch controllers that complete the Oculus Rift VR headset package are easily the best virtual reality controllers currently available. Comfortable and intuitive to use, their built-in sensors let them track more complex gestures with your digits than rival gear accompanying the HTC Vive or PlayStation VR can manage.

But they do come with a point of major frustration. Whereas the competition each offers up rechargeable controllers, Oculus has made its Touch controllers require removable AA batteries.

A neat, and surprisingly affordable solution is being offered up by US retailer Best Buy and its hardware brand Insignia, offering up an Oculus Touch charging station that also includes rechargeable battery packs for the controllers.

Simple solution

Oculus Touch controllers have slide-off covers in their handle grips, under which the batteries can be placed. The Insignia charging station includes modified cover slots and rechargeable batteries that have contact points, letting them be re-juiced when sat in the stand.

Each battery takes three hours to charge, allowing for ten continuous hours of play time between charges.

Best of all, it's surprisingly affordable, costing just $29.99 (about £22 / AU$40). While Best Buy only serves US customers, it's the first device like this that we've seen, elegantly fixing the biggest sticking point we've seen with the controllers. As such, until an international brand offers up a better solution, it may be worth it for worldwide Oculus owners to consider importing one.