Here at Shortlist, we spend so much time in mixed reality headsets that we often have to remind ourselves that we sadly aren’t really an astronaut, superhero or death-defying rock climber. But those depressing reality checks aside, we love MR. It’s great for immersive gaming and entertainment experiences, as well catching up with friends, and the Meta Quest 3S - the latest entry in Meta’s headset lineup - is also an impressively capable fitness gadget to boot, thanks to a wide variety of apps that are designed to get you moving.
It’s so good, in fact, that there’s a conversation to be had about investing in a Quest 3S instead of a membership at your nearest gym. Why do the latter when you can bring the gym to you, you might ask. Now, we’re big gym fans and wouldn’t discourage anyone from joining one if it’s something they want to do, but if MR fitness is something that interests you, here are 5 reasons why purchasing the Meta Quest 3S from EE might just be your best option.
1. It’s just like real life
There are so many ways to work up a sweat with the Meta Quest 3S. You can Karate kick your way towards your fitness goals in Les Mills Bodycombat, the hugely popular non-contact martial arts workout that comes to your living room via a dedicated Meta Quest app, or engage your whole body in a high energy dance class in the FitXR app. Maybe you’re just looking for some morning meditation in the desert - or one of Supernatural: Unreal Fitness’s other stunning virtual environments. These apps allow you to choose the workouts that are right for you, keep you motivated with instructors, and track your progress and metrics along the way. Meta also has its own fitness tracking app, called Move, which syncs with the Meta Horizon app on your phone so you can see your stats there.
2. …But it’s also a lot more fun than real life
Of course, you don’t need to use the more traditional fitness apps to keep fit with the Meta Quest 3S. There are a whole range of games designed to get your blood suitably pumping, such as Pistol Whip, the thrilling rhythm-action that effectively turns you into a duel-wielding John Wick as you shoot your way through psychedelic set pieces at speed. And then there’s Beat Saber - undoubtedly the MR game everyone should play first - in which the Quest 3S’s Touch Plus controllers become lightsaber-esque glowing swords that you use to slash the beats of some of your favourite songs as they zoom towards you. That all of this just happens to double as a sweat-inducing cardio session is a bonus.
3. You can get fit in private
Gyms are great, but they can be judgemental and intimidating places, especially for newcomers. This shouldn’t be a reason not to use one at all, but one of the many benefits of MR-based fitness is that you can do it all in the privacy of your own home, letting you work towards your goals without worrying about what others are thinking as they watch on. Your workouts can take place in stunningly rendered virtual environments, which look great on the Quest 3S’s high-definition 1832 x 1920 displays, or in the more familiar surroundings of your front room thanks to impressive colour passthrough tech that allows you to see your real-world space via the headset’s internal screens - without having to remove it. Nothing beats the immersive wow factor of full-blown VR (which you can get plenty of here), but the Meta Quest 3S’s additional mixed reality capabilities are utilised in a lot of the available fitness apps, so you can choose what you want to see while you work out in peace.
4. It’s safe for you — and your furniture
Nothing disrupts a calorie-burning session like accidentally punching a hole in your TV while trying to impress your virtual instructor. Luckily, the Meta Quest 3S has a number of safety features in place to prevent expensive mid-workout mishaps. The handy Action button on the headset allows you to easily switch between full VR environments and the aforementioned passthrough mode to keep you grounded and aware of your surroundings. You also have the all-important boundary feature, where a perimeter you draw around your space during setup instructs the device to warn you should you come close to breaching it. A virtual wall will appear if this happens, so as long as you leave a bit of space between that and the nearest physical object you’d rather not break, you don’t need to worry.
5. You can’t beat it for value
Starting at £279 for the 128GB model when purchased from EE, the Meta Quest 3S is considerably cheaper than the standard Quest 3, which now ships with 512GB of storage as standard and starts at £469.99. That’s a nearly £200 saving if you opt for the 3S. The reduced resolution may not matter if you’re predominantly using the headset for fitness purposes, and the two headsets boast the same Snapdragon XR2 Gen2 chips that delivers 2x the graphics performance of the previous generation Meta Quest 2. And with a native refresh rate of 120Hz, performance is seriously smooth. The headset is also bundled with a three-month trial of Meta Quest+, the subscription service that grants instant access to a growing catalogue of MR games, plus the fantastic Batman: Arkham Shadow. Did we mention that fighting hordes of goons as the Caped Crusader isn’t a half bad workout either?
The ultimate gym alternative?
Should you ditch the gym entirely in favour of a virtual workout space? That depends on how committed to fitness you are. Those pursuing serious goals will likely need to incorporate weight training, running or other high intensity exercise into their routines eventually, but MR is perfect for supplementing your training without needing to leave the house. And for those looking to get fitter but find the gym daunting, throwing yourself into one of the many fully-featured fitness apps available for the Quest 3S is a great way of building up your confidence. And hey, you might even begin your fitness journey accidentally by getting obsessed with a particularly active game.
