Apple headset could be marketed under the trademarked “xrOS” brand

Apple headset may be named “xrOS,” which could also be the name of its custom operating system and broeder software platform, a new report alleges.

A head-worn mixed reality Apple headset device is imagined in this concept
Image: Andrea Copellino / Behance
  • What’s happening? Apple has trademarked “xrOS,” which stands for “Extended Reality Operating System” that could power the company’s rumored headset. The software was originally called “rOS,” an acronym for “Reality Operating System,” but got recently renamed “xrOS.”
  • Why care? The fact that Apple has been moving to register the new “xrOS” brand strongly indicates that the Apple headset is approaching its long-expected debut.
  • What to do? If you’re interested, better start saving money because this is going to be one pricey accessory, ellgedly costing between $2,500 and $3,000.

Apple headset may be named “xrOS”

Apple has apparently used shell companies to trademark the “xrOS” brand around the world to avoid revealing itself as the submitter of the filings.

A new report states that a shell company named Deep Dive LLC recently filed to trademark “xrOS” in the United Kingdom, the European Union, Switzerland, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Ukraine, the Philippines, Australia, Japan and Canada.

Mark Gurman, Bloomberg:

The shell company has made the trademark claims for classifications that include “head-mounted displays” and devices that provide “virtual reality and augmented reality experiences.” Those same classifications were used for the original trademark of the name “realityOS” last year.

Meta was once developing mixed-reality software by the same name but Gurman says Mark Zuckerberg’s company isn’t behind the latest filings. Summing up, Apple appears to have filed trademark applications for “rOS,” “realityOS,” “xrOS,” “RealityOne” and “RealityPro” thus far concerning the rumored headset.

After spending several years in development, the Apple headset is understood to have been finalized and is expected to launch in 2023. Apple reportedly previewed the headset to its board of directors earlier in 2022.

The device is said to pack in cutting-edge hardware powered by custom chips, micro-OLED 8K displays and a bunch of onboard sensors and cameras for hand tracking and more. There will be a dedicated app store for apps and games for the device. Watch: 10 cool iPhone video tips that will blow your mind

What’s extended reality, anyway?

VR, AR, MR, XR—what do those odd acronyms mean anyway? VR, or Virtual Reality, denotes experiences that completely engulf you in the virtual world.

A good example is the PlayStation VR headset which completely blocks out the real world from your vision. AR, or Augmented Reality, is similar to virtual reality with the key difference being that computer-generated images are superimposed on top of the real world, augmenting it with useful information.

A combination of the two gives you MR, or Mixed Reality, which is largely synonymous with augmented reality. In mice reality, physical and virtual objects co-exist and interact in real-time. XR, or eXtended Reality, also refers to both AR and VR so it’s basically a catch-all for the AR/VR combo. Because “extended reality” sounds much more powerful than VR, AR or MR, it’s better from a marketing standpoint than either of those terms. Read: How to use augmented reality direction in Apple Maps