The trademark ‘xrOS’ was filed earlier this year through a shell company belonging to Apple, and not surprisingly, prior to the AR headset launch, the same xrOS wordmark had been filed through the same entity. The California-based giant has a history of guarding upcoming products with multiple layers of secrecy. It takes advantage of shell companies to register trademarks and patents, as the origin of leaks cannot be traced back to Apple. While it is an intelligent decision, it does not matter much in this case.
Apple has also considered ‘realityOS’ as the name for the AR headset software, but it appears that xrOS was chosen instead
The xrOS wordmark was spotted by Parker Ortolani, who shared on Twitter confirming the registration through the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office. As 9to5Mac reports, unlike a trademark, a wordmark is used as a marketing stylization, with the current typeface spotted in the image below used in several literature, ranging from user manuals, product packaging, support documents, and more.
Before the Apple AR headset unveiling, the term ‘xrOS’ was spotted
The term xrOS also fits well with Apple’s other platforms, such as iOS, macOS, iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS, in the sense that it is short and will be easy to spot and recognize for consumers. There was an earlier report stating that Apple considered both ‘realityOS’ and ‘xrOS’ names for its AR headset, but looking at the sufficient evidence, we know which term the company settled on. The name of the operating system likely refers to ‘extended reality,’ showing that Apple intends to integrate both AR and VR content.
The ‘xrOS’ trademark was filed earlier this year through the same shell company that Apple owns
Alongside xrOS, Apple has other registered trademarks such as ‘Reality Pro,’ which is the rumored name of the AR headset, plus ‘Reality Pro’ and ‘Reality Processor.’ According to various reports, both the software preview and a sneak peek of the mixed-reality headset will be showcased at next month’s WWDC keynote, providing a closer look at one of Apple’s most ambitious products to date.