Developers are seeing more references to “realityOS” – the operating system that the headset will run – Within Apple’s code, as the rumored AR/VR headset gets closer to its expected launch.
The first Apple headset is expected to be technically advanced, albeit somewhat ergonomically clunky and expensive. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple has already started work on a second-generation headset that will be lighter and cheaper to buy. Later in the decade, it is believed Apple hopes to miniaturize the technology further and ship lightweight, discreet, AR glasses targeted at wholly replacing the iPhone.
References to realityOS have been found in the open source dyld repo and in the App Store upload logs. Perhaps surprising no one, this indicates that the headset will include an App Store for third-party developers to distribute augmented reality and virtual reality app experiences. Steve Troughton-Smith highlighted references to a realityOS simulator, which will no doubt come in handy for developers to test AR/VR apps before the actual headset hardware is widely available.
Uh what is Apple’s RealityOS doing in the App Store upload logs?
AR/VR confirmed? pic.twitter.com/Wp7XWieeEU
— Rens Verhoeven (@renssies) January 17, 2022
https://twitter.com/stroughtonsmith/status/1491266972226490368
MacDailyNews Take: Earlier this month, The Information reported more details and specs of Apple’s mixed-reality headset, including ultra-high-resolution 8K displays and confirming a price point around $3,000 making the product an enterprise-focused offering, not for the consumer market.
The big, “pricey” VR headset will, in part, exist as a means for developers to build the next killer AR apps for true, light, powerful Apple smartglasses.
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