Apple creates the basis for the introduction of its first mixed reality headset: With the help of a shell company, the manufacturer has apparently applied for several goods and service marks for the new hardware. These include trademarks for the names “Reality One”, “Reality Pro” and a “Reality Processor” submitted by a company called “Immersive Health Solutions”. The trademark applications were filed by reputable law firms whose services Apple has used for this purpose in the past, as the financial news agency Bloomberg reports.
Trademarks for virtual and augmented reality headsets
In the past, Apple has regularly used shell companies and early registration outside the US Patent and Trademark Office to protect the trademarks of products that have not yet been released in order to keep the designations secret for as long as possible. The application for “Reality One” covers several Nice classifications for different product groups and should apply to the areas of video game consoles and computer-aided communication, as well as to products and services related to virtual and augmented reality headsets. According to the trademark application, commercial use of the trademark is envisaged. Whether “Reality One” and “Reality Pro” will ultimately be used for Apple’s VR/AR headset remains open.
In the spring, Apple itself accidentally revealed that a new operating system and an associated software development kit (SDK) are being used internally under the name “realityOS”. References to a “realityOS simulator” also appeared for a short time. Similar to the simulator for iPhone and watch apps, this should serve as a central tool for testing realityOS apps in the Xcode development environment.
Lots of software tracks
Apple let the developer conference WWDC pass without a concrete announcement about a new VR/AR platform, but with interfaces and frameworks there are more and more building blocks for an Apple headset. It remains unclear when Apple wants to announce a first product. The sales start of a virtual reality headset, which also allows augmented reality applications via external cameras, is not expected before 2023 at the earliest.
