Apple's mixed-reality headset will run a custom operating system, and a new report suggests that the software has been renamed to xrOS. Apple's mixed reality headset is one of the most highly anticipated devices expected to launch in 2023. The device will be the first in a new product category for Apple.
Originally expected to make its debut at WWDC 2022, the mixed reality headset will reportedly be unveiled in January 2023. Alongside the headset, Apple is also working on augmented reality glasses that may launch only in 2025 or 2026. Apple's main rival in the new category will be Meta, which already has a big presence in the AR/VR space with its Metaverse and Quest VR headsets.
The operating system for Apple's mixed reality headset was originally called realityOS, but a mixed-reality headset that combines AR and VR.
Name Trademarked Across The World
The Bloomberg report adds that around the time the name was changed, a secretive shell corporation called Deep Dive LLC filed a trademark application for xrOS in the U.S. and several other countries. If Apple is behind the filings, it might use xrOS as the official name for its new operating system. The shell company began developing an mixed reality operating system with the same name.
Additional details provided by the source mentions a new version of core apps such as Messages and Maps and a VR version of FaceTime. Furthermore, there will be a software development kit that developers can use to create their own apps and games for the platform. Bloomberg also adds that the headset and its software and apps are being developed by a secretive unit called Technology Development Group or TDG, headed by Apple executive Mike Rockwell. The operating system division is led by Geoff Stahl who has been at Apple for more than two decades.
Source: Bloomberg