Ahead of WWDC kicking off in a little over one week, interesting trademark filing details for "realityOS," the name for Apple's upcoming AR/VR headset operating system, have been resurfaced online, offering a clue as to what Apple may have in store to share at this year's conference.
The two separate trademark filings (1, 2) were resurfaced by Parker Ortolani on Twitter, who notes that while both were initially submitted on December 8, 2021, more interestingly, they're both listed with foreign filing date deadlines of June 8, 2022, just two days after Apple's main WWDC keynote. Another filing on the USPTO website lists a foreign filing date deadline of June 9, 2022.
The filings themselves are not labeled or marked as Apple trademarks, but several hints indicate the Cupertino tech giant owns them. The filings are under a company that goes by the name of "Realityo Systems LLC," and as noted by Parker, the corporate location used by this company is the same address Apple has used in past years to hold onto macOS California release names ahead of launch.
"realityOS" was accidentally referenced by Apple in App Store update logs earlier this year, confirming its existence in some capacity. rOS, short for realityOS, was first reported by Bloomberg in 2017 with the internal codename "Oak."
realityOS will first run on a high-end, niche AR/VR headset Apple is planning to announce this year or early next year, according to Bloomberg. Apple recently previewed its mixed reality headset to its board, implying that the product is nearing completion.
The headset will feature two 4K micro-OLED displays, 15 camera modules, powerful processors equivalent to the M-series chips, eye tracking capabilities, hand gesture support, spatial audio, and other features. When it launches, the headset is expected to cost somewhere around $3,000.
Rumors have been quiet on whether or not Apple plans to announce hardware at WWDC this year, but the dates of the trademark filings hint that Apple may have more to share about its vision for the future of AR/VR. For the first time since September 2019, Apple is also inviting select members of the press and has invited developers from the App Store community to attend a special event at Apple Park on June 6.
Update: Since this article was published, both Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman and a practicing lawyer have claimed that the trademark filing date deadlines are actually a legal requirement and that their closeness to WWDC is likely mere coincidence.
Top Rated Comments
When the iPhone came out, it was similarly priced in comparison to other less usable smart phones, and had mass market potential… $3000 for AR goggles? Outside of people who use it for 3D creative work, who is this for?
I have trouble seeing these in the general population unless they reach under $500, and even then… I still don’t see the appeal of the meta verse
:p
Having a wearable makes the experience more immersive. If well executed (light, confortable, good looking with good battery life), it may also allow for a portable much better experience than the one you currently get from your phone. Playing games and watching streaming on a tiny screen is no match to what you can do with good VR equipment. Its just more convenient because the thing fits in your pocket and people have become accustomed to the idea of having other people around staring at a small rectangle of metal and glass. Entertainment is already a huge market and it would justify the existence of such device on its own (granted, not for 3000$... although I might end up eating my words but I doubt it will cost that much).
But AR is even more interesting than VR, in my opinion. And it becomes more useful as it can integrate your regular life. As you said, navigation is one interesting application. How about cooking, where you have access to the recipe without touching a screen, even as you move around in your kitchen? How about working and having instant access to user manuals or technical specifications? How about buying a new appliance and knowing how to operate it, just by looking at it, where "bubbles" just float next to different buttons to let you know what they do. How about driving your car while having a virtual HUD showing you your speed and reminding you the speed limit in that particular road? How about turning sports into a game... you do not go out for a walk or a run... you're running for your life, avoiding zombies, if that's your kind of thing...
And yes, AR gaming might be the next great thing. A killer application. Everything, everywhere becomes a game. Some very clever people may turn these games into learning experiences for children, for example. They may learn geography like never before, looking at virtual representations of mountains and rivers that they cannot visit in real life. Remember what Pokémon Go did when it came out. It set a lot of people (and kids) in motion. You may say that it got old pretty quickly, but that was just one game (and not very interesting, by the way). We're talking about a platform here, that may allow you to turn your surroundings, any surroundings (!!!) into a game or an interactive learning experience. A good development framework (Apple style) and a powerful App Store would probably attract very talented developers with very interesting ideas.
But we will have to wait and see what Apple has to show (if they ever really unveil a product). I'm pretty excited about this whole thing because I have a VR headset (HP Reverb G2) and the experience is really amazing. But the thing is bulky and so uncomfortable with all the cables around. Image quality is good, not great and if you move your eyes a bit from the center of the image, everything looks blurry...
I just don't think technology is quite there yet. I would really like to be proven wrong. Apple usually come late to the party but they end up doing things much better than the rest and showing the way.
It's not a place to spend one's life.