Apple will call the headset operating system xrOS

Apple he would decide to call his own operating system for AR/VR headsets “xrOS”instead of “realityOS” o “rOS“. But the release date remains fixed: it should arrive in 2023, probably in the first part of the year.

Apple will call the operating system for headsets “xrOS”.

Mark Gurman, Apple’s expert analyst at Bloomberg, explains that the name should indicate the new operating system dedicated exclusively to viewers for the mixed reality (augmented and virtual), like watchOS is the one for smartwatches and tvOS is the one for Apple TV.

XR stands for eXtended Reality, literally “extended reality”. And it indicates the viewer that Apple is preparing will be able to take advantage of both augmented and virtual reality, like Microsoft’s HoloLens do, for instance. Augmented reality superimposes virtual elements onto the real world, while virtual reality creates digital worlds in which to move.

According to the first rumors, this operating system should have apps such as Maps and Messages to allow you to move and communicate in augmented reality. But Apple will publish the development kits for other programmers to work on: especially for games in virtual reality.

According to Bloomberg, during the development Cupertino engineers spoke of the operating system as rOS. But now the marketing decision is to pay the name with the addition of that “x” is less genericwhich explains what kind of headset Apple is developing.

Also, it appears that a company called Deep Dive LLC have registered the xrOS name in different countries, almost certainly on behalf of Apple. Everything therefore seems ready for the revelation of this new device and its operating system: it could arrive at WWDC next June, but many commentators are betting that it will arrive even earlier.