What is USDZ?

USDZ is an archive format based on USD (Universal Scene Description), developed in the open source project OpenUSD. It packages scenes (USD), textures and animations into a portable file that iOS/iPadOS and visionOS understand natively - for example in Apple's AR Quick Look.

In short: USD describes the scene - USDZ is the transportable package.‍

Tip: If you want to build AR as a channel, link this glossary article to your services page Augmented Reality and the AR glossary.

Why is USDZ important for brands?

• Zero friction: A tap on the USDZ file directly starts the AR preview in Quick Look - perfect for product pages and QR codes in the showroom.
• Realistic product testing: scale, material effect and proportions are visible in the real room → Confidence & fewer bad purchases.
• One asset - many channels: You use the same model for AR, 3D viewers on the web and classic renderings (see 3D Render Studio).
• Apple ecosystem: Smooth integration into iOS/visionOS; Apple offers tools such as Reality Composer Pro.

USD vs. USDZ - what's inside?

• USD (usda/usdc/usd): Scene graph, instancing, LODs, variants, animation - open standard(OpenUSD).
• USDZ (.usdz): A non-compressed archive (similar to "zip without zip") that bundles USD + assets. iOS/visionOS recognize it natively for AR previews (WebKit: AR in Safari).

Material basics (USD Preview Surface)

USDZ uses USD Preview Surface - a PBR material close to the metal/roughness model. Read also PBR - Physically Based Rendering.

Typical map assignment

• Base Color / Albedo → diffuseColor
• Metallic → metallic
• Roughness → roughness
• Normal → normal(tangent space, OpenGL)
• AO → multiplied separately
• Emissive → emissiveColor
  

Deepen material and texture topics in UV mapping, Normal Map, Roughness Map and Texture Baking.

Export rules & best practices (mobile-compatible)

• Real scale & pivot: Scale uniformly (e.g. 1 = 1 m), pivot to floor - the object "stands" correctly in AR.
• Polygon budget: practical ≤ 200k Tris per main object; for sets LODs.
• File size: ≤ 4-8 MB ensures fast quick-look loading times.
• Textures: 1-2 K are often sufficient; POT sizes (1024/2048/4096). BaseColor sRGB, other maps linear.
• Normals: OpenGL convention (green channel positive).
• Transparency/refraction: economical - mobile AR prioritizes performance.
• Naming/structure: No spaces/umlauts; consistent suffixes (_bc, _rough, _metal, _n).
• Clean UVs: No overlaps in baked maps; consistent texel density.

Apple describes the integration from a publisher perspective in AR Quick Look; for authoring we recommend Reality Composer Pro.

glTF vs. USDZ - when do I use which?

More about the web standard: glTF 2.0 (Khronos) and our glossary: glTF file format.

Practice USDZ -Workflow

FAQ - USDZ

Does USDZ support animations?

Yes, USD/USDC supports object, camera and skeleton animations; Quick Look plays simple sequences. Background: OpenUSD - Features.

Can I open USDZ on Android?

Directly rare. USDZ (iOS) + GLB (Android/Web) are recommended for the store. Web-Viewer and WebXR mainly rely on glTF/GLB (see Khronos glTF).

How do I embed USDZ on a product page?

Via link/button "View in AR". iOS opens AR Quick Look natively; the display has been integrated in Safari since iOS 12 (WebKit contribution).

Which tools are recommended for exporting?

In addition to DCC exporters (e.g. via USD plug-ins) Reality Composer Pro is the Apple way for authoring/conversion. For material creation: Adobe Substance 3D.

Which render engine is behind it?

Real-time rendering is handled by the platform runtime (Quick Look/visionOS). Basics of pipelines & shading: Render Engine and ray tracing.

Is USDZ compressed?

No - USDZ is intentionally "un-zipped" for fast streaming. Optimization is done via geometry and texture reduction (see Digitize surfaces and Material & Surface Visualization).