With less than a month to go from Apple’s keynote presentation at WWDC and the expected launch of its mixed reality headset, the company may have accidentally confirmed the name of the device’s operating system. It looks like the software will indeed be called “xrOS”, with the first two letters meaning “extended reality”.
With eagle eyes Parker Ortolani, who works for The Verge, noted that Apple last week applied to the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office for a trademark over a logo that is simply the word “xrOS” in the proprietary SF Pro typeface. of the company. In December, Bloomberg reported that Apple had switched from realityOS to xrOS as the name of the software, and this discovery seems to confirm this assertion.
As is often the case with Apple, the trademark application was filed under the name of a shell company, which makes detecting these a little more difficult. But veteran Cupertino watchers have learned to expect these kinds of moves, and the front company used this time, Deep Dive LLC, has been involved in numerous xrOS branding activities in the past, as documented by Patently. Apple with admirable depth in December. Interestingly, Patently Apple advances the theory that, rather than switching to xrOS by choice, Apple found it too difficult to acquire the trademarks needed for realityOS in the United States.
Either way, xrOS is arguably a better brand in terms of communicating what Apple intends to achieve with its next product portfolio. While realityOS does not limit the company to virtual, augmented or mixed reality, extended reality actively emphasizes the ambition to grow beyond any aspect of the field. Apple is thought to be planning an entire ecosystem of xrOS products, starting with a headset but encompassing a second, likely cheaper version, as well as a range of related devices. (One possibility is a set of smart glasses, though those are on hold for now.) The main downside is that Apple has already released the iPhone XR, but that phone may now be old enough that few customers be confused.
But all these questions should be clarified soon. Following numerous reported delays, Apple’s first-ever mixed reality headset is set to make its public debut at WWDC on June 5. You can keep up with all the latest news, leaks and rumors with our regularly updated Apple Reality Pro headset superguide.
