Apple Will Give A 'Ton Of New Clues' On MR Headset/RealityOS At WWDC: Here's What's Coming

It's almost certain that Apple, Inc. AAPL wouldn't announce its mixed reality headset or the realityOS, the operating system that would power the headset.

Bloomberg columnist Mark Gurman delved on what's cooking at Apple on the headset front.

Apple Surreptitiously Files For RealityOS? A mysterious shell company named Realityo Systems LLC, recently filed for a trademark for realityOS, Gurman said, citing Parker Ortolani, product manager at Verge.

Gurman finds a link to Apple, given the lawyer who filed the trademark on behalf of the shell company has some loose ties to Apple. Realityo initially registered for the realityOS name in Liechtenstein on June 9, 2021. The U.S. trademark filing was done on Dec. 9, 2021, the columnist said. He noted that Liechtenstein is one of the countries where Apple files for trademarks before they are needed in the U.S.

Apple Might Drop Hints Of MR Headset At WWDC: Despite Apple previewing its MR headset to its board members recently, a full-blown unveiling at the 2022 WWDC is unlikely, Gurman said. He, however, expects Apple to give a lot of new cues at the conference. The device will ultimately hit stores in 2023, with a likely debut in the U.S. first, he added.

This is because Apple's headset project is not merely the device and its OS but an entire set of new augmented reality- and virtual reality powered Apple apps and experience, Gurman said.

Related Link: Predicted Features Of Apple's iOS 16 Ahead Of Unveiling At WWDC

Apple's MR Initiatives: Toward the development platform for the headset, Apple is planning to make a user interface such as body tracking, hand tracking, gestures, hand-based typing and Siri access automatically embeddable inside third-party apps, Gurman noted.

The company is also working on a new version of SwiftUI for building AR and VR apps, the analyst said.

RealityOS was developed as an offshoot of the iOS and tvOS, with Apple working on a feature that would allow iPad and Apple TV apps to work with the headset, Gurman noted.

Apple is reportedly planning a slew of its own apps, including a VR version of FaceTime that can scan a person's face to replicate their movements in a Memoji, a new VR version of Maps, and rOS variants of core Apple apps like Notes and Calendar. The company is also working on a way for the headset to extend a Mac's display, bringing it into 3D, he added.

Gurman noted that Apple is leveraging its entertainment arm and acquisitions like NextVR to build 3D versions of its content. The company could even eventually unveil virtual reality iterations of Apple TV+ shows and Fitness+ workouts, he said.

"Apple's increased foray into sports is also not a coincidence, and I'd expect that to tie-in nicely as well," Gurman said.

Apple closed Friday's session down 3.86% at $145.38, according to Benzinga Pro.