Apple’s AR/VR Operating System Could Be Called RealityOS

Apple VR headset prototype
Source: Český Mac

It’s no secret anymore that Apple is working on an AR/VR headset. In a January 2021 report, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claimed that the headset would show up sometime in 2022. Since then, he has stated that a more likely release date is 2023 due to several development challenges.

The headset is expected to cost upwards of $2,000 when it finally arrives, featuring a powerful chip based on Apple’s M1 architecture. It will likely target creative professionals, such as those working on the metaverse.

As a standalone AR/VR headset, the device needs an operating system. Considering that Mac computers have macOS, the iPhone has iOS, the Apple Watch has watchOS, the iPad has iPadOS, and the Apple TV has tvOS, it seems natural for the headset to get its own bespoke operating system as well.

By analyzing App Store upload logs and GitHub open-source code, developers Rens Verhoeven and Steve Troughton-Smith have been able to discover what the new operating system may be called when introduced by Apple: realityOS.

We know the same operating system is internally codenamed Oak. The non-descriptive codename that doesn’t follow Apple’s established naming conventions is supposed to obscure the true purpose of the project.

While the name realityOS, or rOS for short, seems like a fitting name for the new operating system, we have to wait for Apple to definitely confirm it. As Troughton-Smith points out, “this could just be a remnant of somebody’s pull request from a fake account.”

Besides the name, no other information has been revealed about the operating system yet. For example, we don’t know if it’s based on iOS or macOS, and we also don’t know what its user interface will look like.

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