During a lengthy stretch of its development, Apple’s Vision Pro headset was internally called “Reality Pro” before Apple finally settled on the moniker it shipped with, says prototype collector and leaker known as “Kosutami.”
Kosutami’s comments came in a post on X, where he wrote that the “Apple Vision Pro was originally called Reality Pro” during the early stages of development, pointing to an internal string, “realityprorealityosdev.”
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about the Reality Pro name, as Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman first said Apple’s first headset would likely be called “Apple Reality Pro.” In August 2022, trademark filings were discovered for “Reality One,” “Reality Pro,” and “Reality Processor” in the United States and several other countries. A shell company called Immersive Health Solutions LLC made the filings, which is a tactic Apple has used before to keep upcoming product names undercover.
An earlier trademark application for “realityOS” was dated December 2021, filed by another shell company, Realityo Systems LLC. Developers had already spotted realityOS references inside Apple’s own software and App Store upload logs by that time. By mid-2023, other trademark activity was spotted for “xrOS,” “xrProOS,” “realityproOS,” and “realOS.”
Apple debuted its headset at WWDC 2023, unveiling it as the “Vision Pro.” The switch came late enough in development that traces of the old naming, like the string Kosutami highlights, persisted in internal builds and software.
Apple reportedly still has trademark rights to “Reality Pro” and “Reality One,” which would allow it to market the headset in countries where Vision Pro is unavailable, like in China, where Huawei holds a ten year license to the Vision Pro trademark until 2031.
The Vision Pro launched in the U.S. in February 2024 at a base price of $3,499. Last week, Apple laid off around 100 members of its Vision Products Group, largely shutting down its Vision Pro gaming and immersive video teams, thanks to Apple already canceling both a redesigned Vision Pro 2 and a cheaper “Vision Air” as the company’s attention moves to smart glasses development.