Glossary

Reality Composer

Reality Composer is Apple's no-code app for building, testing and tuning AR scenes on iPhone and iPad, available free on the App Store. You arrange 3D objects, add behaviours and triggers by drag and drop, and export the result as a USDZ or a .reality file. The macOS version was bundled with Xcode through Xcode 14.3.1 and removed in Xcode 15; for visionOS authoring, Apple now provides Reality Composer Pro.

Quick Facts

Type: no-code AR scene builder (app)
Platforms: iOS and iPadOS (Mac version removed from Xcode 15 onward)
Output: USDZ and .reality
Strength: quick AR prototypes, behaviours and triggers
visionOS successor: Reality Composer Pro (no .reality export)
Web publishing: not needed, use PausAR Viewer

Reality Composer was Apple’s answer to building an AR scene without writing code. You place objects, wire up simple interactions such as tap-to-play, proximity triggers and sequences, and preview them on a device. The output is a USDZ for Apple Quick Look or a .reality file for an app, which makes it handy for quick prototypes and for producing a USDZ from a simple scene.

One important context point: the Mac version of Reality Composer was bundled with Xcode through Xcode 14.3.1 and was removed in Xcode 15. The iOS and iPadOS app remains available on the App Store. For visionOS-era authoring, Apple’s newer tool is Reality Composer Pro, though it does not export .reality files.

For a WordPress site you do not need Reality Composer in the pipeline. PausAR Viewer takes a finished GLB and USDZ and handles the display and the AR launch. Reality Composer can be one way to author a USDZ, but for product AR the modelling usually happens in tools like Blender, and the publishing happens in PausAR Viewer.