According to people who wanted not to be identified since the project is still under wraps, the corporation recently changed the name of the operating system from “realityOS” to “xrOS.”
Apple Inc. is accelerating the development of a mixed-reality headset, the company’s first significant new product category since the Apple Watch, and has renamed the accompanying software in the latest indication of an impending debut. According to people familiar with the topic, the business intends to release the headset as early as next year (2023), along with a dedicated operating system and app store for third-party apps.
Offering Augmented and Virtual Reality
The new software title alludes to the headset’s mixed-reality capabilities. The acronym “XR” refers to extended reality, which includes both augmented and virtual reality. Augmented reality superimposes images and virtual information on top of the real world, whereas virtual reality provides an immersive experience for gaming and watching videos.
The Next Big Thing
Apple’s foray into the market pits it against Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which is counting on the metaverse in part to reduce its dependency on Apple products. The move is also part of Apple’s ongoing pursuit for the “next big thing.” With the launching of the Apple Watch in 2015, the company transformed its wearables business into a sector that currently accounts for more than 10% of its sales, generating $41.2 billion in the previous fiscal year.
Apple’s Cupertino, California-based spokesman declined to comment on the company’s headset intentions.
According to Bloomberg News, the mixed-reality operating system will include new versions of major apps including as Messages and Maps, as well as a software development kit that third parties may use to create their own apps and games. The headset, as well as its supporting operating system and apps, are being developed by the company’s Technology Development Group, or TDG, a top-secret branch overseen by executive Mike Rockwell. Geoff Stahl, a senior engineering manager and nearly
24-year Apple veteran who has spearheaded work on gaming and graphics software, has overseen the operating system.
When Apple first began working on the operating system roughly seven years ago, it was internally dubbed “realityOS” — or “rOS” for short. Within the corporation, Apple has recently begun referring to the software as “xrOS.” Unlike the more generic-sounding “reality” appellation, the new brand might help Apple claim the emerging mixed-reality sector.
Apple May Not Be The Pioneer
Apple would not be the first to adopt the term “xrOS.” In an odd coincidence, Meta had a team of roughly 300 developers working on a mixed-reality operating system called Meta. However, that company does not appear to be behind the most recent trademark filings.
