Mindfulness and meditation apps have huge potential in the realm of extended reality. The complete immersion created by headsets like the Meta Quest and Apple Vision Pro offers great potential to initiate such practices, which are very difficult to initiate and maintain.
As such, a partnership between leading meditation app Headspace and Quest-maker Meta is a no-brainer. This morning, the two companies announced a collaboration with multimedia design company Nexus Studios, which is working to customize the extended reality headset experience.
The aptly named Headspace XR app features practices guided by the app's mindfulness/meditation coaches, Dora Kamau and Kessonga Giscombe. If you've ever used Headspace, Calm, or the like (or just tried guided meditation of any kind), you're probably familiar with these methods, including breathing exercises, body scanning, mood tracking, and the like. They are all designed to help refocus the user's focus.
Image credits: Headspace
There's also a community element here, perhaps for those who need a little outside encouragement to maintain a consistent practice. It is set in colorful, metaverse-style environments, where users can interact and play games. At the very least, the experience feels engaging in a way not usually associated with meditation apps. This will probably bring back users quite a bit – how it translates into effective, regular practice is another question. Clearly, the companies wanted to offer something beyond mere contemplation.
“Research shows that when humans play, our brains are activated in a way that can impact overall life satisfaction and emotional well-being. Unfortunately, our daily lives are often stripped of this opportunity,” says Headspace VP Sara Cohen in a press release.
So, playing as a gateway to mindfulness is the obvious goal here. At the very least, improving mood through social activities seems to be an achievable goal in the short term.
Although tying a subscription fee to a free app is industry standard, Headspace instead opts for a $30 upfront fee. The app is now available for Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 2, and Meta Quest Pro.
