Apple Vision Pro Mindfulness App May Get 'Respiration Tracking' Feature

[MacRumors]

Apple is working on a new "respiration tracking" feature for Apple Vision Pro that is likely to be functional during mindfulness sessions, based on backend code discovered by MacRumors.

Contributor Aaron Perris found references to the previously unheard-of feature in lines of code related to the headset's Mindfulness app, which offers users an immersive meditation experience using either guided meditations or self-guided sessions.

Apple's Mindfulness app essentially encourages the user to cultivate awareness of their own breath to support mental wellbeing. Attention to breathing is generally considered to be a foundational component of mindfulness practice, and long-term mindfulness training is associated with reliable differences in resting respiration rate, according to empirical research.

Apple Watch can already track respiration rate while wearers are sleeping. Apple Watch uses its built-in accelerometer, which measures vibration and movement, to determine how many times a person breathes each minute. While the Vision Pro also has an accelerometer, it's unclear whether this hardware or sensors that track changes in facial musculature would be involved when a mindfulness session is in progress.

There's no information suggesting if or when the feature could make an appearance, but Apple is expected to announce visionOS 2 at its annual developers conference, WWDC, which begins next week, June 10.

Article Link: Apple Vision Pro Mindfulness App May Get 'Respiration Tracking' Feature

 

[RandomTox]

Do you really need an app and AVP for that?

 

[Karma*Police]

I didn’t use this feature on my AW when I had it on all day. Can’t imagine too many people putting on a bulky headset to do this. For many people who are serious about mindfulness/ yoga/ meditation, it’s an opportunity to get away from technology and distractions of the world to find inner peace, not look at some hallucinogenic effect through goggles.

 

[Lactoes]

... to find inner peace, not look at some hallucinogenic effect through goggles.

Maybe it's just me, but I agree with the account called Karma*Police when it comes to discussing inner peace.

 

[thewill586]

MacRumors needs something to post everyday.

 

[CarAnalogy]

This interface for the Vision Pro looks really, really cool. Except, doesn’t everyone close their eyes during meditation?

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has actually tried this, if they can relax with the weight of the thing on their head.

 

[nfl46]

Im surprised they haven’t done more with this on the AVP. I love the app “TRIPP.” It’s reallyyy good!

 

[nfl46]

This interface for the Vision Pro looks really, really cool. Except, doesn’t everyone close their eyes during meditation?

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has actually tried this, if they can relax with the weight of the thing on their head.

Yep, I can. I’ve gotten use to the weight of it now. It doesn’t even bother me. Then again, I’ve been using VR headsets since the Oculus Quest in 2019 so it’s not fair for me to comment on that. Lol. I’ve been through the VR journey and the AVP has so much untapped potential! It’s all up to Apple to give up updates with new features. All we’ve gotten so far are bug fixes that most users don’t even notice.

 

[MarkDeMoss]

I’ve gotten use to the weight. The enjoyment outweighs the weight.

It says you can close or keep your eyes open. I find a mix of the two is nice.

I’m not really a meditation person, but I use this feature every other day, 5-20 minutes. It always has two things to breath to. Today’s was on inhaling gentleness and exhaling caring. It does a good job at breathing exercises so respiration expansion makes sense.

I like how simple it is, two things to consider and that’s it. Though I think they could make some more advanced sessions as the virtual reality has all sorts of potential visually and auditory with the spatial sound but that’ll likely come as a third party paid apps.

 

[CapitalIdea]

Do you really need an app and AVP for that?

Did the article say you needed either for it?

 

[elrojo69]

LMAOOOOO imagine using apple vision pro for meditation.

 

[spazzcat]

This interface for the Vision Pro looks really, really cool. Except, doesn’t everyone close their eyes during meditation?

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has actually tried this, if they can relax with the weight of the thing on their head.

There are many forms of mediation including walking.

 

[turbineseaplane]

This seems like an overkill device for mindfulness practice

I didn’t use this feature on my AW when I had it on all day. Can’t imagine too many people putting on a bulky headset to do this. For many people who are serious about mindfulness/ yoga/ meditation, it’s an opportunity to get away from technology and distractions of the world to find inner peace, not look at some hallucinogenic effect through goggles.

This ^
Well said @Karma*Police

 

[Johnstrass2]

This interface for the Vision Pro looks really, really cool. Except, doesn’t everyone close their eyes during meditation?

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has actually tried this, if they can relax with the weight of the thing on their head.

As a Vision Pro owner, I really like this app. I find no problem wi the "weight on head issue" ( just spent 6 hours on a long airplane flight wearing this happily). Also it is very helpful for extra monitors (using the "virtual monitor" to replace my laptop screen with massive hi-res monitor as well as having open screens from other apps driven by the AVP itself) while working on my McBook Pro. Yes, there is a bit of "light leak" and "lens flare" issues that appear, but your brain tunes these out within a few minutes. As for a breating sensor, I really like that idea. There is very good scince to support active breathing. The AVP really seals you off from outside stimulation, making a meditation experience easy for those used to being overstimulated. The one part of the app that I don't like is that the gentle enlargement / contraction for the image is too fast for mindful breathing. It might be nice now to simply adjust that. It will be really great to se it work as a training tool, like the "biofeedback" approaches of the 1970s For more about the science of breathing this is a good book:

Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Supercyborgninja]

For now I don’t get the use of this? One you need to close your eyes and 2, wouldn’t a heavy headset be a distraction?

 

[BarrettF77]

Can we just get some meaningful updates to Vision Pro?! I really am feeling like this product was rushed and unlike my Apple Watch I still found value in it. I barely use this one.

 

[bobbie424242]

I've been waiting for this all my life and will immediately buy an AVP exclusively for it !

 

[G5isAlive]

Do you really need an app and AVP for that?

Do you really need an excel spreadsheet and computer for that when we already have 10 fingers and an abacus?

Nope, but sure is nice. Is this the reason to go out and buy an AVP? Again nope, but for those that have one already, it can be pretty cool. I like the graphics.

For now I don’t get the use of this? One you need to close your eyes and 2, wouldn’t a heavy headset be a distraction?

One reason to shut your eyes during meditation is to block out distraction, the point of mindful breath is to give you something to focus on, accompanying graphics can also provide something to focus on. And there are some of us that are not bothered by the fit of the AVP.

 

[name99]

For now I don’t get the use of this? One you need to close your eyes and 2, wouldn’t a heavy headset be a distraction?

The point of Mindfulness on Apple Watch is not (or not only) "meditation". You can use it for that, or go along with a whole lot of extra woo; but in medical terms the goal is for the watch to be able to track and baseline certain features of your heart behavior, and ideally to see how those change from day to day. It's hard to simply pick these up "on the fly" because the watch doesn't otherwise know when you're going to be spending 1 minute still and calm, and so it should be recording.

Certainly I have zero interest in the meditation part of the app, but I do value the fact that it's adding power to the general background heart tracking.

 

[YourBoss]

Everybody knows what the people want for the Vision Pro. The question is: do they have the balls to bring xvideos to it?

 

[nfl46]

Can we just get some meaningful updates to Vision Pro?! I really am feeling like this product was rushed and unlike my Apple Watch I still found value in it. I barely use this one.

Good thing is, you just have to be a little more patient. Lol.

 

[coolfactor]

LMAOOOOO imagine using apple vision pro for meditation.

Amazingly, people do and find it quite useful. Imagine that.

 

[coolfactor]

I've been waiting for this all my life and will immediately buy an AVP exclusively for it !

Go for it, Bobbie! It will blow your mind!

 

[coolfactor]

For now I don’t get the use of this? One you need to close your eyes and 2, wouldn’t a heavy headset be a distraction?

Easy. You know those hanging lamps? Put a hook into the ceiling, and a chain comes down to attach to your headset. Weight problem solved.

We call it the "Awesome AVP Anti-Gravity doohickie thingamabob thing". Works great.

 

[HDFan]

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has actually tried this, if they can relax with the weight of the thing on their head.

No problem.

I love the app “TRIPP.”

which already uses the Apple Watch to provide meditation feedback

Did the article say you needed either for it?

Since the app is only available on the VP you need both.

wouldn’t a heavy headset be a distraction?

You soon forget about it. Obviously we are waiting for a lighter version.