The Only Reason I Travel With My VR Headset Is the One Thing Meta Needs to Focus on More: Fitness

I almost never travel with VR headsets, no matter how many times I’ve been told flying with a Vision Pro to watch movies is great, or how headsets can help you make a virtual computer desktop on the road. But I took one with me for my last three-week trip, and there was only one reason why: it was my fitness gear.

I’ve been working on losing weight the last year, and increasing my exercise. VR workouts have become a part of my regimen, because they’re motivating, they don’t need a lot of equipment and I can do them in my home without visiting a gym. I use Supernatural, Meta’s subscription fitness service, and the classic Beat Saber, with some others in the mix, too. 

For my latest trip I realized I should keep the momentum going, and that the Quest 3 VR headset wasn’t that hard to pack along with me. I carry my CPAP machine with me, after all, so I can carry a Quest.

I’m glad I did, because I got in some workouts in an otherwise sedentary overseas family trip, and it even motivated me to get out and walk more. But it also reminded me of something I’ve thought of for over a year. Meta’s just not advancing fitness in VR like it should.

Hey Meta, get your butt off the couch

The potential for VR to work as a fitness accessory is massive. I’ve already seen the impact in my own health. With Supernatural’s heart rate tracking support via a phone app that connects to devices like Apple Watch, it lets me keep an eye on intensity. Mixed reality modes can work functionally to keep me aware of my environment more safely. I use mixed reality mode all the time in Supernatural for this reason.

And yet, problems remain. Of course, a big one is still headset size and weight, and the weirdness of sweating into goggles strapped over your head. There are ways to mitigate this, like a silicone face piece I use to help repel sweat or a visor-type rigid strap that elevates the headset away from my cheeks a bit. I’d like something even lighter with better ventilation, more fitness-optimized.

Battery life also is far from ideal. The two hours of average Quest battery is more than enough for any workout (I only do half an hour), but the battery life on the Quest 3 I’ve been using has been dipping since using it two years ago. One workout could wipe out as much as 40% of my battery now.

Fitness is also, to me, the killer app of VR more than anything else. I can’t get a holographic coach and movement-aware activities anywhere else. When it’s good, it’s like a magic portable gym. And whatever company can ace that experience will have a killer pitch to the people who already spend hundreds or even thousands on fitness equipment and gyms, who might find it a lot more justifiable to spend up than would-be VR gamers or movie watchers.

I expect Meta to add fitness and health functions to its XR devices at Meta’s VR, AR and AI-focused Connect developer conference this September. The company’s latest Oakley smart glasses are clearly sports-focused. And when I asked Meta’s wearable head, Alex Himel, whether more fitness and sports features would be coming to Meta’s hardware, he told me to stay tuned to Connect.

Meta might choose to emphasize fitness hook-ins to its smart glasses, including an expected pair later this year with wrist-based controls and a display. Maybe there will be integrations with watches and fitness apps to track or start workouts, or even, as rumored, Meta might even make its own watch. I hope Meta doesn’t forget about its VR devices, though. Virtual workouts are a very real and useful present tool, and I want them to be even better in the future. Now is the time to make it happen, because if Meta doesn’t move faster, someone else will.