According to Bloomberg, Apple has filed trademark applications for its upcoming AR/VR headset in multiple markets around the world centered on the term Reality. To avoid detection, third parties are said to have filed patent applications on Apple’s behalf in its home market. Reality One, Reality Pro, and Reality Processor are mentioned in a series of trademark applications filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
For quite some time, the term “Reality” has been making the rounds in the leak community, with numerous sources claiming that realityOS is the software platform that will power Apple’s AR/VR hardware. RealityOS references have already been found in App Store code. Apple’s XR headset, widely expected to arrive early next year, is rumored to be the most advanced wearable device of its kind, though this remains to be seen.
The model will allegedly be powered by an M2-series chip as the main processor, but there will also be a co-processor to handle less demanding tasks. According to Mark Gurman, the headset, which is said to have advanced eye tracking technology and over a dozen cameras, will allow users to watch movies together, play games, and even attend FaceTime calls using their own animated virtual avatars (via MacRumors). According to reports, Apple was having difficulty optimizing the thermal system on its headset, but those issues may have been resolved as the company is said to have shown units of the device to a closed circle of board members earlier this year. But one thing has remained a mystery.
Reality Pro sounds very on-brand
In comparison to its competitors, Apple is known for sticking to conservative naming schemes and selecting new words for a product only when it is truly unique. In the case of Apple’s much-anticipated headset, the terms Reality One and Reality Pro sound like terms Apple would use — and it all fits in nicely with the realityOS ecosystem.
Patent filings also provide information. The Reality One trademark includes phrases like “game apparatus,” “telecommunication functions,” “computer aided transmission of messages and images,” “message sending,” “wireless broadcasting,” and “providing on-line music,” all of which are tasks that fall squarely within the purview of an AR/VR headset.
If there was still any doubt, the other Reality One application begins with “Photographic and optical apparatus and instruments,” which is also strongly suggestive of a wearable headset and its core component. The third one is for a product related to “entertainment services in the nature of mixed, virtual, and augmented reality content production and distribution.”
Read also; META PROJECT CAMBRIA VR HEADSET IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER
The Reality Processor trademark application includes the phrases “wearable computer hardware” and “remote controls for use with computers,” which strongly suggests a wearable device. Apple is said to be working on multiple iterations of its first XR headset, codenamed N301, a successor internally known as N602, a cheaper mixed reality version slated for 2025, and a pair of augmented reality glasses.
