Apple visionOS was called ‘xrOS’ before last-minute change, WWDC23 keynote and developer sessions confirm it
Tom Sykes
Posted On 09/06/2023 
In the lead-up to Apple announcing its long-rumored mixed-reality headset on Monday, it was widely reported that the operating system on which it would run would be named ‘xrOS,’ however, upon its unveiling, Apple announced that the device would run a system called visionOS, a name that was seemingly decided upon at the last-minute.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman was one of the most notable voices who reported that Apple’s new mixed-reality headset, Apple Vision Pro, would run xrOS in the lead-up to its launch, with the actual name for the operating system, visionOS, coming as somewhat of a surprise at the device’s unveiling.
However, the WWDC23 keynote and developer sessions this week have seemingly confirmed that ‘xrOS’ was indeed intended to be the name for the new headset’s operating system, although for some reason, the name was switched at the last-minute, with evidence of the existence of ‘xrOS’ mentioned in the main WWDC23 keynote and 45 times in one single WWDC developer session.
xrOS remains the internal development name and references to the name are present throughout the WWDC materials. pic.twitter.com/mjtoBSg9Og
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) June 5, 2023
During a WWDC23 session, Apple showed off the new visionOS Simulator on Xcode, showing the name ‘xrOS’ on stage, confirming the company was using the name during the development of the new Apple Vision Pro headset.
Furthermore, a user on Twitter under the name M1 shared a video from one of Apple’s developer sessions, in which Apple presenters say the name ‘xrOS’ over 40 times, further confirming that ‘xrOS’ was the name given to the new headset operating system, with Apple seemingly changing it to visionOS at the last-minute, after it recorded its WWDC23 keynote and developer content.
Apple’s new Vision Pro mixed-reality headset blends digital content with the physical world through a fully three-dimensional user interface controlled by a user’s eyes, hands, and voice. Developers will be able to build apps specifically for visionOS, with the iPhone maker set to provide developer kits to allow programers to build, iterate, and test new apps.
