'realityOS' Trademark Filing Hints at Possible WWDC Announcement [Updated] - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

'realityOS' Trademark Filing Hints at Possible WWDC Announcement [Updated]

Ahead of WWDC kicking off in a little over one week, interesting trademark filing details for "realityOS," the name for Apple's upcoming AR/VR headset operating system, have been resurfaced online, offering a clue as to what Apple may have in store to share at this year's conference.

wwdc 2022 hero
The two separate trademark filings (1, 2) were resurfaced by Parker Ortolani on Twitter, who notes that while both were initially submitted on December 8, 2021, more interestingly, they're both listed with foreign filing date deadlines of June 8, 2022, just two days after Apple's main WWDC keynote. Another filing on the USPTO website lists a foreign filing date deadline of June 9, 2022.

The filings themselves are not labeled or marked as Apple trademarks, but several hints indicate the Cupertino tech giant owns them. The filings are under a company that goes by the name of "Realityo Systems LLC," and as noted by Parker, the corporate location used by this company is the same address Apple has used in past years to hold onto macOS California release names ahead of launch.

"realityOS" was accidentally referenced by Apple in App Store update logs earlier this year, confirming its existence in some capacity. rOS, short for realityOS, was first reported by Bloomberg in 2017 with the internal codename "Oak."

realityOS will first run on a high-end, niche AR/VR headset Apple is planning to announce this year or early next year, according to Bloomberg. Apple recently previewed its mixed reality headset to its board, implying that the product is nearing completion.

The headset will feature two 4K micro-OLED displays, 15 camera modules, powerful processors equivalent to the M-series chips, eye tracking capabilities, hand gesture support, spatial audio, and other features. When it launches, the headset is expected to cost somewhere around $3,000.

Rumors have been quiet on whether or not Apple plans to announce hardware at WWDC this year, but the dates of the trademark filings hint that Apple may have more to share about its vision for the future of AR/VR. For the first time since September 2019, Apple is also inviting select members of the press and has invited developers from the ‌App Store‌ community to attend a special event at Apple Park on June 6.

Update: Since this article was published, both Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman and a practicing lawyer have claimed that the trademark filing date deadlines are actually a legal requirement and that their closeness to WWDC is likely mere coincidence.

Related Roundup: Apple Vision Pro
Buyer's Guide: Vision Pro (Neutral)

Popular Stories

apple vision pro orange

Apple's Vision Pro Layoffs Were Broader Than First Reported

Tuesday September 1, 2026 4:18 am PDT by
Recent layoffs of Apple employees working on the Vision Pro were broader than previously thought, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Last month, Gurman said that Apple cut around 100 jobs from the Vision Products Group, with those cuts centered on the headset's gaming and immersive video teams. Gurman now says the layoffs also reached Vision Pro staff across the rest of the company, including ...
watchos 27

Apple Seeds watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27 Release Candidates

Wednesday September 9, 2026 12:06 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of watchOS 27, visionOS 27, and tvOS 27 to developers and public beta testers. The release candidates are the final versions of the updates that will be seeded to the public as long as no final bugs are found during this last round of testing. The updates can be installed through the Software Update section in the Settings app on each...
Apple Immersive Video Utility Vision Pro

Apple Guts Vision Pro Gaming and Immersive Video Teams, Trims Siri Staff

Friday August 21, 2026 12:16 pm PDT by
In addition to cutting dozens of Vision Pro employees who worked on features like immersive video and gaming, Apple is laying off people who worked on Siri and AI, reports Bloomberg. Apple is "largely shutting down" the Vision Pro team focused on gaming, and it is paring down the team that makes immersive video content. Approximately 100 employees who were part of the Vision Products Group...

Top Rated Comments

56 months ago

This is truely a product I don’t understand the market for. I feel like the two products they are chasing, a ar headset and a car…. Are just not game changers.


When the iPhone came out, it was similarly priced in comparison to other less usable smart phones, and had mass market potential… $3000 for AR goggles? Outside of people who use it for 3D creative work, who is this for?

I have trouble seeing these in the general population unless they reach under $500, and even then… I still don’t see the appeal of the meta verse
I have a feeling this post won't age well in 10 years.
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
56 months ago
This is truely a product I don’t understand the market for. I feel like the two products they are chasing, a ar headset and a car…. Are just not game changers.


When the iPhone came out, it was similarly priced in comparison to other less usable smart phones, and had mass market potential… $3000 for AR goggles? Outside of people who use it for 3D creative work, who is this for?

I have trouble seeing these in the general population unless they reach under $500, and even then… I still don’t see the appeal of the meta verse
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
56 months ago

I doubt it. I just don’t see people wanting to spend their life in a non-reality, it will get old quickly. Other than AR walking navigation in places you’ve never been, I don’t see use cases that make sense. And you thought people were paranoid about Google Glass having a camera in public, this thing sounds much worse. And no I don’t see headsets replacing smartphones for most people. I mean seriously, replace a small device with a large bulky device that always draws more energy and can only be used if you are wearing it on your head? No thanks
People already do spend a serious part of their lives on several different non-realities. Playing games in front of a computer monitor (or TV) or watching Netflix and other streaming services kind of fits the definition.

Having a wearable makes the experience more immersive. If well executed (light, confortable, good looking with good battery life), it may also allow for a portable much better experience than the one you currently get from your phone. Playing games and watching streaming on a tiny screen is no match to what you can do with good VR equipment. Its just more convenient because the thing fits in your pocket and people have become accustomed to the idea of having other people around staring at a small rectangle of metal and glass. Entertainment is already a huge market and it would justify the existence of such device on its own (granted, not for 3000$... although I might end up eating my words but I doubt it will cost that much).

But AR is even more interesting than VR, in my opinion. And it becomes more useful as it can integrate your regular life. As you said, navigation is one interesting application. How about cooking, where you have access to the recipe without touching a screen, even as you move around in your kitchen? How about working and having instant access to user manuals or technical specifications? How about buying a new appliance and knowing how to operate it, just by looking at it, where "bubbles" just float next to different buttons to let you know what they do. How about driving your car while having a virtual HUD showing you your speed and reminding you the speed limit in that particular road? How about turning sports into a game... you do not go out for a walk or a run... you're running for your life, avoiding zombies, if that's your kind of thing...

And yes, AR gaming might be the next great thing. A killer application. Everything, everywhere becomes a game. Some very clever people may turn these games into learning experiences for children, for example. They may learn geography like never before, looking at virtual representations of mountains and rivers that they cannot visit in real life. Remember what Pokémon Go did when it came out. It set a lot of people (and kids) in motion. You may say that it got old pretty quickly, but that was just one game (and not very interesting, by the way). We're talking about a platform here, that may allow you to turn your surroundings, any surroundings (!!!) into a game or an interactive learning experience. A good development framework (Apple style) and a powerful App Store would probably attract very talented developers with very interesting ideas.

But we will have to wait and see what Apple has to show (if they ever really unveil a product). I'm pretty excited about this whole thing because I have a VR headset (HP Reverb G2) and the experience is really amazing. But the thing is bulky and so uncomfortable with all the cables around. Image quality is good, not great and if you move your eyes a bit from the center of the image, everything looks blurry...

I just don't think technology is quite there yet. I would really like to be proven wrong. Apple usually come late to the party but they end up doing things much better than the rest and showing the way.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SamRyouji Avatar
56 months ago
Reality? That means, according to them I'm just living in a mere illusion of what is real, The Matrix
:p
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
56 months ago

I doubt it. I just don’t see people wanting to spend their life in a non-reality, it will get old quickly. Other than AR walking navigation in places you’ve never been, I don’t see use cases that make sense. And you thought people were paranoid about Google Glass having a camera in public, this thing sounds much worse. And no I don’t see headsets replacing smartphones for most people. I mean seriously, replace a small device with a large bulky device that always draws more energy and can only be used if you are wearing it on your head? No thanks
They won't. AR is a tool to help solve problems or complete complicated tasks - such as doctors using AR-assisted surgery on heart patients, which is being used today. Just as *one* example.

It's not a place to spend one's life.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Abazigal Avatar
56 months ago

This. This scares me a lot.
The fact that more and more people won’t be physically at a said event, hence all watching from the same point of view, is exactly this: they won’t be looking through their own eyes, but from someone/something else’s point of view.
And what happens if we all get used to have one point of view?
There is gonna be less and less diversity, people will all think alike, like sheep, and goodbye critical thinking.
It’s already like this for movies and tv shows.
I don't see how you can equate everybody being able to get the best / preferred seat in a concert irrespective of everyone else with the loss of critical thinking / perspective.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors