What is USDZ?

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).