The app, available exclusively for Meta Quest 3, allows users to interact with a 3D version of the popular fitness coach.
Alo Moves, the digital content division of athleisure brand Alo Yoga, is releasing a virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) fitness app for Meta Quest 3, featuring classes in yoga, pilates, meditation, and more.
Alo partnered with extended reality (XR) studio Magnopus to create an app that features 3D-captured coaches and supernatural settings. During classes in the app, participants can “walk around” the studio, see the instructor from all angles, and become immersed in the environment. Classes also take place in supernatural settings like the ocean and mountains.
Visuals will include 3D instructors and “mini-instructors,” who can move around the space to easily visualize and reference poses and movements. Classes, which range from five to 25 minutes, will be led by renowned instructors such as Ashley Galvin, Annie Landa, Bianca Wise, Kirat Randhawa, and Susie Markoe Schieffelin. According to Meta, the digital fitness app is expected to launch later this year.
Alo Moves app membership costs $12.99 per month or $129 per year and includes access to content on your smartphone or tablet.
VR Fitness Gains Momentum
Alo Moves’ new app comes amid the growing popularity of VR fitness, a space in which Meta is investing heavily, hoping to attract the roughly 80% of Americans who don’t exercise regularly with fun, engaging games and fitness workouts.
The tech giant is famously battling the FTC over its acquisition of Within, which owns the popular VR fitness app “Supernatural.”
Other big-name fitness brands are also betting big on VR fitness, including Zumba, which has begun a partnership with FitXR to bring dance fitness classes to Meta Quest.
Research has shown that VR fitness can have a more positive impact on people’s emotions than “real-life” exercise: in a randomized controlled trial conducted by Dr. Brendon Stubbs, 91% of users reported improved emotional state compared to traditional exercise.
Meth, allo and escaping legal trouble
Last October, Alo and Meta were sued by Andre Elijah Immersive Inc. (AEI), which had allegedly collaborated with Meta and Alo Yoga to develop a VR fitness yoga app before the partnership fell apart. The lawsuit claimed that Meta had a vertical monopoly in the VR space, excluding potential competitors.
AEI dropped the lawsuit earlier this week, according to a California federal court filing. It’s unclear if the lawsuit’s withdrawal is related to the release of the new Alo app.
