Apple developing a new operating system called 'realityOS' for AR/VR headset?

Washington: Apple is planning to launch its long-rumoured AR/VR headset sometime in late 2022 or 2023, and now developers have spotted additional mentions of a new 'realityOS', the operating system that could power it.

First referenced as 'rOS' in 2017, realityOS was also spotted as part of some pre-release iOS 13 builds. As per 9to5Mac, developers have now found references to realityOS in GitHub repos and in App Store upload logs.

"What is Apple's realityOS doing in the App Store upload logs?" asked iOS developer Rens Verhoeven.

Fellow developer Steve Troughton-Smith said a GitHub repo referencing realityOS confirms it "has its own OS & binaries... and has a realityOS simulator."

He also speculated that this could simply be "a remnant of somebody's pull request from a fake account."

The original report that referenced rOS in 2017 noted that the operating system is based on iOS. Apple is a fan of using the OS shorthand for its operating systems, including iOS, watchOS, tvOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

Geoff Stahl, an Apple veteran, was reportedly one of the directors in charge of the realityOS software group in 2017.

The new references to realityOS come months after analyst Ming-chi Kuo claimed Apple's first AR headset would arrive later this year with "the same level of computing power" as an M1 Mac.

Kuo also suggested the headset will be a standalone platform, which could further explain the need for a dedicated operating system. RealityOS could be a codename Apple has been using for five years.

The continued references suggest it's a project that's key to its headset.