Facebook is reportedly planning to integrate Oculus VR workouts with Apple Health.
The company has been ramping up efforts for its Oculus platform in recent years, and now, in a perhaps unexpected turn of events, it seems Facebook wants to position the VR headset as something of a workout tool.
As first reported by Bloomberg and then confirmed by developer Steve Moser, Facebook Oculus users will be able to sync their workout data to their Apple Health app – ideal if they work out using their VR headset. They can share information such as the number of calories burned and the time of their workout with the Health app.
It’s also thought that data previously saved to the Apple Health app – like calories burned and workout history – will then be available inside of the Oculus app, allowing for backwards compatibility and deeper integrations.
We don’t know for certain when these features will be made available to users, but it’s great to see that Facebook wants to integrate its services within the platforms offered by Apple. Facebook has made several attempts to increase its stronghold over health, and by offering users the chance to share their data with Apple, Facebook would also be able to collect data from the Apple Health app and use it for marketing and research.
It’s been reported for a number of years that Apple has been working on its own virtual reality headset, which could directly compete with Oculus. According to some reports, the headset could arrive in 2022, before more advanced versions of Apple’s augmented reality technology – such as its Apple Glasses – arrive in the mid-2020s.
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