If you love exercising in virtual reality, you’ll be excited to hear that the Meta’s two best VR headsets — Quest 2 and Quest Pro — are getting their best fitness update yet.
The first upgrade is exclusive to Android smartphone users — though don’t feel left out by Apple iPhone fans, they’re just catching up on a feature you already had. Now Meta Quest Pro and Oculus Quest 2 users can sync their VR workouts with Android’s Health Connect; This API is used by multiple apps and collects your fitness data in one convenient location.
Having all your stats in one place can help you better monitor your activity and more easily manage how you achieve your goals.
To set up this sync, you’ll first need to head to the Move app on your Quest headset. In the app’s settings, you’ll want to scroll down until you find Connect Move to Meta Quest Mobile App and toggle this option on if it isn’t already.
Next, remove the headset and launch the Meta Quest phone app, tap the menu icon, and then the transfer icon. You can then open the Connected Apps tab and the option to toggle the ability to sync your data with Health Connect. Allow sharing of your exercise data and active calorie burn data and you’re all set. You can then find all of your data in the Health Connect app.
Perhaps most importantly, your Meta Quest headset can finally pair with a compatible Bluetooth heart rate monitor like the Garmin HRM-Dual and Polar H10.
Once paired, you’ll be able to see your heart rate in VR via the Meta Quest Move overlay — along with calories burned and the number of active minutes you did in VR during your session. One of our favorite features is that this overlay appears on top of every VR game; So whether you’re looking to catch up on an intense session in Les Mills Body Combat or Liteboxer, your casual activity in one of the best VR games like Beat Saber or Pistol Whip or even drop by, you’ll be able to collect and monitor your VR Fitness data.
To start tracking your heart rate in your VR headset, you’ll need to head to the Quest’s Bluetooth settings and connect to a heart rate monitor.
Working in VR is an absolute blast, and these updates only help make the experience more rewarding for casual and serious users alike. If you’re already struggling to stick to your New Year’s fitness resolution, a virtual reality workout experience might be just what you need so you don’t give up on your activity goals. But don’t be afraid to take it easy, you don’t want to exercise too hard in 2023.