TapXR - Wrist Worn Keyboard, AirMouse & Controller for VR, AR, MR, Tablets, PC, Laptops, Smartwatch, Smartphones, TVs & Projectors.

I'm always on the lookout for gadgets that not only make my work easier but also add a bit of flair to my home office. This product has been a remarkable addition to my setup.First off, the packaging is wonderful. The box has that sort of soft, Apple product feel, and a magnetic opening that reveals two bands (a large and small) plus the charging cable and sensor. It also comes with a handy pocket alphabet guide that is the size of a credit card in case you want to take your tap alphabet on the go. Charging took about 30 minutes and was done via a USBC cable that has a magnetic cradle that holds the Tap in place. the whole setup is very sleek and looks good with my existing desk/tech setup.The instructions have you download an app called TapManager to pair and get started. This process was super easy, but did require an account creation. After a short update it started teaching me taps right away. I did a few lessons and exited out to play around with the other settings. There are a lot of unique customization options from the actual inputs to how you like to tap - but the real standout feature has to be the new airmouse. It feels like I'm living in the future every time I use it. I have seen other reviews complaining this feature is not available yet, so you do need to update the firmware to get access to it.Final thoughts: Tap has injected a new level of coolness and excitement into my daily routine. It's not just about getting the job done; it's about enjoying the process, and this gadget certainly helps with that. Whether I'm navigating through spreadsheets or jumping on a video call, everything feels more intuitive and engaging.

This product looks and feels cool. That is where its utility stops.Out of the box:* The Quick Start Guide is a list of random facts about whats in the box and what the LED blinky patterns mean. This guide left me nowhere close to "Started".* The QR code in the Quick Start Guide did take me to the TapManager app in the Google Play store quickly enough.* After installing and starting the app, you have to register an account with them in order to open the app. I can't think of another keyboard/pointer device that demands to know my email before I can use it, but fine. I'll play along.* The on/off slide mechanism on the wristband isn't stable, so it's easy to inadvertently switch the device off. This happened to me while trying to pair the first time, resulting in what appeared to be a broken pairing process. After restarting the app and the Tap device, I did finally get it to pair.* The "Learn to Tap" tutorial popped right up, which felt helpful except...* The device did not recognize any of my finger taps from the very first lesson. Even the simple lets-just-tap-each-finger-once test didn't recognize my taps.* Try a few more restarts of the app and device. Watch some troubleshooting videos to make sure I'm wearing the thing correctly. All seems OK.* Eventually it started recognizing my finger taps, thanks to no discernible change in my movements. Neat! It recognizes my single taps and combo taps! I'm typing letters! Until...* It mysteriously unpairs from my phone (I think). Whatever happened, it stopped recognizing any finger taps again. I try to pair again, but it goes back to not recognizing any of my finger taps.* I discover in the Settings menu that I can check for updates. Ooh, there's an update available! Let's try that. Applying the update is painful. The app estimates it's going to take 25 minutes to download and apply. Why so heavy?? Attempt 1: Fails at 67% about 15min in. Attempts 2 & 3: Fail at 67% again. After attempt 3 the battery is below 80% and it won't let me try again. I plop it on the charger and come back later.* For no discernible reason, when I come back, the update completes successfully. It takes >20min. I appreciate the honesty, at least.* For sanity, I completely remove the TapManager app and reinstall. As I'm repeating the first-time pairing process, it goes as poorly as the first time. A couple bluetooth pairings and app restarts later, the TapManager app finally recognizes the device and I'm back to the basic tutorial again! But...* It still doesn't recognize my taps at all again... Until mysteriously, it does! I'm tapping! I'm learning letters! The multi-finger combo taps are working! Until... it stops following any finger movement again.* At this point I don't care if bluetooth unpaired, or if the power accidentally shut off, or whatever. I take it off my wrist and put it back in the box, where it will remain until it ships back to the sender. I wish I could these wasted hours of my life back.

I have owned a TapStrap 2 for several years and used it quite a bit-- self-referentially-- to learn the Tap alphabet (oddly, never used it in VR). I was very impressed with the design-- a keyboard, desktop mouse, and air mouse in such a small package, and the design of the alphabet is actually really smart-- I could tell I was dealing with a product from bright people, but I really didn't have a use case for it.. until recently.I affixed a phone to my left forearm (development project) and thought input for that would actually be a perfect application for the TapStrap, so I got it out, charged it up, and refreshed myself on the alphabet. Unfortunately, there are a couple of things that irritate me about my TS2-- like the airmouse is almost useless without excessive practice (that shouldn't be necessary), it will sometimes misrecognize my input, it's hard to keep the bands snug on my fingers (technically, not an issue, but I prefer the feeling), so I thought I would try the TapXR, assuming it would be-- after some five or six years-- a far superior product to the TapStrap, and solve those problems.Just from looking at the pictures, I had reservations-- I have broad hands and thick wrists, and also, it actually looked more obtrusive on the wrist than the TS2 is on the fingers. But, they know what they're doing, right?Oh my, no. The things I thought would be problems are exactly the problems I thought they would be (and puzzlingly would have been easily foreseen).1) Because of my thick man wrists, I use the larger band, but it doesn't sit right, because it doesn't actually go around the arm-- it's just "clamped" (you can see in the pics that it's just a C) with soft silicon that I can readily see being knocked off the arm, or at the very least, misaligned. In some positions, it felt like it would fall off (or even pop itself off), and this is actually a very important point, because the sensor is very finicky, so having it in just the right place requires you to turn this band-- that is MOLDED IN A FIXED ORIENTATION, so it keeps wanting to move itself back to square with the bone in my wrist.1b) I'm only likely to use a device like this if it's handy. With my TS2, I can just leave it on my hand and do *most* normal activity (e.g., I am typing on a regular keyboard now, but still have the TAP on). The XR would be directly under my arm.2) The sensor module itself is also peculiar. It slides into the wristband in a strangely precarious way. To power it on, you slide it forward and to power it off, you slide it back. In the forward position, for reasons I do not understand, the module can rotate downward, past where it's supposed to be to work, and turn all the way around backwards-- and then fall out of the wristband. It isn't secured with any kind of.. anything, really. It's relying on a very shallow channel that mates with the sensor body, and then a magnet to hold it in place when it's retracted. And since it can do this all-the-way-around rotation, it adds to the difficulty of getting the sensor in a good place. This feels really under-productized.3) If 1 and 2 don't bother you (like, if you're going to use it with VR indoors, and that's it), let me tell you about how it works. So, position is crucial, and as I alluded to, maintaining the position is not easy. My experience went from "this thing doesn't work at all" and then, after downloading a bunch of updates, "this thing doesn't work as well as my TS2". As I mentioned my hands, the biggest problem this thing has is occlusion-- and possibly also field of view.3a) For example, if I have the XR in a working position, I sometimes discover that while I can make R properly, it isn't even seeing my fingers making N-- not misrecognizing, but not even seeing the fingers. I can adjust it, but then have the reverse problem. This isn't always-- which almost makes it worse.3b) If my fingers are too close, like when making G, where middle and ring fingers both come down, I typically have those fingers together, but the XR may see it as just one finger.3c) When it's working properly, it's pretty good-- but I had to moderate my enthusiasm when I stopped to think about it. The XR's "good" isn't any better than the TapStrap. To wit, this evening, I sat under ideal conditions, at a table, in good lighting, and played about 10 rounds of Endless Mode using each device-- with the XR, my highest score was in the 80s; with the TapStrap, almost 300. And that includes that, for some reason, my TapStrap kept "not working" for several seconds almost every game (it would just suddenly be like it didn't exist).4) Ecosystem. Two things. One, you can pair the XR with up to three devices. You can switch which device by holding down the power button, which is tiny and on the back of the sensor (unlike the TapStrap, you can't reach the power button with the same hand). I have it paired to two different phones (this wasn't intended; the phone I initially paired it with couldn't update the firmware), but when powered on, rather than default to the last device it was connected to, it apparently just connects to.. not that device, requiring me to cycle through connections to get it connected. That part is REALLY weird. And BAD. More BAD than WEIRD really.Two: the software is essentially unchanged since the release of the TapStrap-- the fact that it's severely dated is just a part of it, but there are so many ways they could have improved the software to better support the user in the intervening years. That software and the teaching program were clearly well-thought out and smartly designed, but that fact that it is unchanged makes it feel like abandonware (if I wasn't getting the emails, I'd have thought TAP was out of business). Each of the applications needs just a few tweaks-- not the least of which is acknowledging that this TapXR exists, and that it requires some different hints and help.5) The XR doesn't have a tabletop mouse mode. It does (now) have an airmouse mode that is, incredibly, even worse than the TapStrap's airmouse mode. At least with the TapStrap, you quickly learn your lesson and use the surface mouse. Even GETTING IN to airmouse mode on the XR is nearly impossible to do (on purpose). The gesture is supposed to be the same as with the TapStrap-- thumb and forefinger together, pointing forward, but in that position, my index finger is 100% occluded; the sensor can not see it directly.When I think of what they could have done with the TapStrap's basic design, I'm mad that this thing exists. Even if they wanted it off the fingers for some reason, why not a band that goes around the palm, with a broader, flatter, rounder sensor that fits into the palm-- AND CAN SEE ALL THE FINGERS ALL THE TIME?! This feels like something that sounded like a good idea.. and nobody stopped to say "What problem are we trying to solve?" (I mean, you could say that about the whole TAP idea, but I'll allow there's at least a very niche use case).