Apple leaks 'RealityOS' headset operating system in source code

What you need to know

• Apple appears to have leaked its 'RealityOS' operating system in its source code.
• It seems likely this is a reference to the operating system its AR/VR headset will use.
• The company reportedly has a mixed reality headset in development.

Apple appears to have accidentally leaked a reference to its 'RealityOS' in its App Store upload logs, possibly revealing the name of the operating system for its rumored mixed reality headset.

As noted by Matthew Davis on Twitter, the Apple-OSS-Distributions source code on Github contains a reference to 'REALITYOS' and the instruction "allow iOS executables to use realityOS dylibs".

As further noted by Steve Troughton-Smith there are also references to a realityOS Simulator. He says this confirms that Apple's mixed-reality headset "has its own OS and binaries" and a Simulator. This would seem to indicate, as we might have guessed, that Apple's headset will feature its own App Store just like all of its best iPhones whereby developers can distribute games and apps to users.

Apple VR has been rumored for a long time. Reports indicate that Apple plans to release a "mixed-reality" headset capable of both augmented reality and full VR immersion. Details revealed by The Information indicate the headset's design (pictured) and claimed that the device would have two 8K displays and an eye-watering $3000 price tag. Other reports reiterate the device will be much more expensive than current competing headsets and be more expensive to build than an iPhone 12.

In January insider Ming-Chi Kuo that the headset could come out later this year, and that previously stated a second iteration may come in 2024. Other rumored features include Wi-Fi, 3D sensing cameras, and power akin to the M1 processor used in the MacBook Air with M1 and 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1.