Apple Trademarks XR Operating System

xrOS reportedly trademarked by Apple in select regions

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Apple Trademarks XR Operating System
Mixed RealityNews Analysis

Published: May 18, 2023

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Rory Greener

This month, Apple once again teased its upcoming XR headset by trademarking a stylisation of “xrOS” with the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office.

The trademark filing relates to the font used in the upcoming xrOS branding by Apple. Apple is trademarking xrOS under the firm’s own San Francisco typeface, which it also uses for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

Apple initially filed the base xrOS trademark with the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office earlier this year. The firm filed its trademark under a shell company.

Apple also filed a separate trademark for the new xrOS operating system late last year. Apple requested the trademark filing under the name Deep Dive LLC, which is also a suspected shell company.

Analysts believe that xrOS will be the operating system for Apple’s upcoming MR headset. Apple is still developing the immersive OS for an upcoming headset with a rumoured release date of 2023.

xrOS will likely be a custom-built operating system explicitly designed to optimise immersive passthrough experiences’ performance.

Apple’s RealityOS and xrOS

Apple has been developing an immersive OS platform for several years. Notably, Apple worked extensively on RealityOS (rOS), a precursor platform of xrOS. In 2017, the company trademarked the name rOS, and in February 2022, investigators found references to rOS in Apple’s App Store upload logs and open source code.

The code hints at several features. The rOS platform could support immersive content development and distribution in various ways, including an official application storefront, simulation applications, and ports of original XR applications. It is also possible that the rOS platform could support interoperable immersive applications across an XR headset and an iOS device.

Apple has not confirmed or denied the status of rOS, but the company’s trademark filing and the references to rOS in its code suggest that the platform led to – or assisted with – the firm’s most recent xrOS updates.

In the rOS code, revealing lines could highlight how xrOS applications operate. Notably, “TARGET_FEATURE_REALITYOS” hints at an official application storefront. Moreover, another line, “iOS_Sim executables to use realityOS_Sim”, suggests that Apple’s immersive OS will support simulation applications for training or entertainment.

Apple’s leaked line “builtforplatform(Platform::realityOS, true)” suggests original XR applications and “allow iOS executables to use realityOS“, which may imply that rOS operates interoperable immersive applications across the XR headset and an iOS device. On the other hand, the line of code could suggest Apple’s immersive OS requires smartphone tethering to assist with navigation, application loading, or computing support.

Apple appears to be switching gears from rOS to focus on the xrOS platform to support its long-awaited immersive product.

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