Apple recently released the Apple Devices Preview app for Windows 11 and its code contains references to xrOS, the operating system for upcoming mixed reality headset with combined augmented reality and virtual reality technology.
The new Apple Devices app is a replacement for iTunes on Windows to help users manage their iOS devices. As the company now is launching standalone apps on Windows like the newly released preview versions of Apple Music and Apple TV apps, iTunes for Windows is probably nearing the end of its life.
Apple might brand its mixed reality headset’s software “xrOS” and “RealityOS”
Twitter user @Aaron discovered that the Apple Devices Preview app for Windows included references for “xrOS” and “RealityOS”.
Initially, rumor mills used “rOS” (reality operating system) as the mixed reality headset’s software name. In May 2022, two trademark filings for “realityOS” was discovered for “wearable computer hardware” specifically and other areas of computing.
Although the filing did not explicitly name Apple, several clues indicated that trademarks were filled by Apple like the filing was close to the WWDC event, the “realityOS” trademark was filed on December 8, 2021, just two months after the name started showing up in the company’s source code and Realityo Systems LLC made the filing which was incorporated through a company that uses the same address as Apple had used previously.
Recently, Bloomberg reported that the operating system of the new mixed reality headset would be called “xrOS” to represent its extended reality capabilities. The name “xrOS” had appeared in trademark filings in several countries like Switzerland, UK, Malaysia, Mexico, Ukraine, the Philippines, and others.
Apple is expected to launch its first-generation mixed reality headset this year, maybe in spring or at WWDC 2023 event. However, the appearance of xrOS and RealityOS in an app’s code does not guarantee that the company will use that branding.
Previously, the ‘M1X MacBook Pro’ tag appeared on the WWDC21 Keynote video but the company called the advanced M series Apple Silicon, M1 Pro, and M1 Max for 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro.
