Apple Trademark May Reveal A Major Detail About Mixed-Reality Headsets

Apple has filed trademark applications for its upcoming AR/VR headset in multiple markets across the globe centered around the term Reality, reports Bloomberg. In its home market, the patent applications have reportedly been filed on behalf of Apple by third parties to avoid detection. The series of trademark applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office talk about Reality One, Reality Pro, and Reality Processor.

The term Reality has been making rounds in the leak arena for a while, with numerous sources claiming that realityOS is the software platform that will power Apple's AR/VR hardware. References to realityOS have already been spotted in code for the App Store. Heavily rumored to arrive early next year, Apple's XR headset is rumored to be the most advanced wearable device of its kind, though that remains to be seen.

The model will reportedly draw power from an M2-series chip serving as the main processor, but there will allegedly be a co-processor, as well, to handle less demanding tasks. Said to feature advanced eye tracking tech and over a dozen cameras, the headset will reportedly allow users to watch movies together, play games, and even attend FaceTime calls via their own animated virtual avatars, according to Mark Gurman (via MacRumors). There have been reports that Apple was struggling with optimizing the thermal system on its headset, but those issues might have been addressed as the company is said to have shown units of the device to a closed circle of board members earlier this year. But what has remained a mystery so far is the headset's marketing name.

Compared to its peers, Apple is known for sticking with conservative naming schemes and choosing new words for a product only when it's truly one of a kind. In the case of Apple's highly-anticipated headset, the terms Reality One and Reality Pro sound like something Apple would be inclined to use — plus, it all fits in nicely with the realityOS ecosystem.

The patent filings also offer a clue. The Reality One trademark throws around terms like "apparatus for games," "telecommunication functions," "computer aided transmission of messages and images," "message sending," "wireless broadcasting," and "providing on-line music," all of which are tasks that fall very much in the ballpark of an AR/VR headset.

If there was any further doubt, the other Reality One filing starts with "Photographic and optical apparatus and instruments," which is also strongly indicative of a wearable headset and its core component. The third one covers a product related to "entertainment services in the nature of production and distribution of mixed, virtual and augmented reality content."

The Reality Processor trademark filing mentions "wearable computer hardware" and "remote controls for use with computers," which again strongly hints at a wearable device. Apple is rumored to be working on multiple iterations of its debut XR headset that is codenamed N301, a successor internally going by the name N602, a cheaper mixed reality version slated for 2025, and a pair of augmented reality glasses, as well.