Mindfulness and meditation apps have great potential in the world of augmented reality. The complete immersion created by headsets like the Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro offers great potential for starting a practice like this, which is notoriously difficult to start and maintain.
So it's no surprise that leading meditation app Headspace is partnering with Quest maker Meta. This morning the companies announced a partnership with multimedia design firm Nexus Studios to customize the experience of augmented reality headsets.
The aptly named Headspace XR features guided practices by the app's mindfulness/meditation instructors Dora Kamau and Kesonga Giscom. If you've used something like Headspace or Calm (or just experienced some type of guided meditation), you'll be familiar with approaches like breathing exercises, body scans, and mood tracking. All of these are designed to help you re-center your focus.
Image credit: Headspace
There's also a community element here for people who perhaps need some outside encouragement to maintain consistent habits. These are set against the backdrop of colorful Metaverse-style environments in which users can interact and play games. At the very least, the experience seems appealing in a way unrelated to regular meditation apps. Perhaps this could go some way towards bringing users back, but how that translates into effective regular practice is another question. Clearly, the company wanted to offer something more than just meditation.
“Studies show that when humans play, our brains are activated, which can affect our overall life satisfaction and mental well-being. Unfortunately, our daily lives deprive us of this opportunity.” “This is often the case,” Headspace Vice President Sarah Cohen said in a release.
So games as an entryway to mindfulness are the obvious hook here. At the very least, improving your mood through social activity seems like an achievable short-term goal.
Combining a subscription fee with a free app is pretty standard in the industry, but Headspace is opting for a $30 upfront fee instead. This app is currently available for Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 2, and Meta Quest Pro.