Focals are a new line of stylish, sleek, and practical smart glasses developed by a Canadian startup company called North.
Taking the augmented reality functions found in Google Glass and combining it with a timeless design that is appealing to the general everyday consumer, Focals are equipped with a holographic lens that display full-colour notifications of text messages, navigations, appointment reminders, weather updates, and more.
“Others have tried and failed to build smart glasses people love because they started with function and fought their way back to form – we did it the other way around. We painstakingly crafted an aesthetic for Focals that was bold enough to make a statement, but discreet enough for everyday wear.” – North
Using a small projector built on the side of the glasses to shine light onto the holographic display, an image is reflected and positioned in the line of sight of the wearer’s eye. The lenses are also equipped with a polarized coating to keep the light projection one-way, making the information only visible to the wearer of the glasses.
With an integrated Bluetooth connectivity, the glasses can be paired with both ios and android where thrid-party applications such as Uber and Amazon Alexa can be synced. A paired phone with WI-FI or data connection is needed in order to operate applications such as maps and Uber.
“At North, we’re building a future where technology is human-centric, discreetly built into fundamental parts of our lives that already exist,” said North in a statement. “We believe that the relationship between people and technology shouldn’t be an “either, or” — it should be a powerful partnership, because together they are much greater than either one alone.”
Costing $999 USD ($1299 CAD), Focals are available to pre-order online and will begin shipping in 2019.
With all the Focals being custom fitted, North is set to open a showroom in Brooklyn and Toronto where sizing appointments can be made. Available in non-prescription and prescription, the smart glasses come with a charging case, sun clips, cleaning cloth, wall plug, 3 ft. USB-C cable, and a 4-directional joystick ring called Loop that is used to control the functions of Focals.
To learn more about Focals by North, click the link below.
