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Focals by North — Glasses with a holographic display only you can see 👓📲🤓
Focals are custom-built glasses with a transparent holographic display only you can see. Focals let you see and respond to texts, get turn-by-turn directions, check the weather, request an Uber, talk to Amazon Alexa and more — all without looking away from your surroundings or calling attention to yourself.
Pre-order now: shop.bynorth.com
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Tom Bielecki
This has potential, if they can extend the functionality through a developer ecosystem etc, but even Apple Watch has had difficulties getting big brands on board. The only thing close to a killer feature I currently see is having a shopping list in front of your eyes. The key ring prevents you from using it while cooking or heavy exercise etc.
I don't know if this is just the marketing spin, but the current product doesn't jump out as being a "must-have" product functionality-wise. It's disappointing that there are only a couple basic utilities, which are already adequately useful with other (cheaper) wearables. Maybe everywhere-access to Alexa is the thing to lean on. But I love the vision in the blog post of giving you superpowers, I just don't see it yet.
Show me how this fits into my life and how nothing else on the market can do what this does.
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Looks nice. But what about the battery life? What are the specs? Does it support Android and iOS?
We totally need more informations 😃
@akdm_ Check this site out with all the tech specs https://www.bynorth.com/tech
@d0b0 Thanks Sam! I couldn't find that page 😉 Do you know if there's a way to try it in France or in the UK?
Congrats on the launch guys! This feels like the right progression from Glass.. super exciting!
Judging by the site + Alexa integration these won't be tied to any particular OS?
Ps. love the new name 😉
@chrisbuttenham We learned a lot from watching and using Glass and we've made some very deliberate decisions based on those learnings!
In terms of OS, works with both Android and iOS.
PS. Thanks, we do too 🤓
@d0b0 are these actually real? Looks like something out of a science-fiction movie.
@d0b0 will there be an option to have the display on the left lens? As a person who's partially blind (in my right eye), I rely on my left eye for pretty much everything. In the past, I've seen AR products with a reliance on the right eye's peripheral vision... I have a feeling I'm not the only person with a fault in that part of my eye-sight and would love if one of the customization options was to choose which lens is the "smart" one.
Wow super interesting! @d0b0 when can we expect to be able to purchase the glasses in the UK?
@ems_hodge 👋nothing to share about international expansion right now but we'll be opening more stores in the near future. We'll keep you posted!
@d0b0 a good excuse for me to come to Brooklyn or visit @lanre__akin in Toronto!
@d0b0 so no more development of Myo the arm band ? Is their no future plans for Myo ?
@d0b0 Looks like a scene from a Kingsmen movie... Amazing to see it as a reality now! 🙏 🙌 Curious - what's the ring for? (next to the glasses in one of the stock photos)
@kaivalyagandhi That's Loop, it's a small ring with a 4-way joystick that lets you interact with Focals!
If anyone wants to join the conversation about weekly updates coming to the glasses, join us over at our subreddit --> https://www.reddit.com/r/focals/
Feels like this can deliver on the promise of smart watches to provide less disruptive notifications. Despite it being less conspicuous, I still find it disruptive when people I'm meeting with start interacting with their watches.
Is there an easy to engage silent mode?
@krisabraun We have a really simple and easy to access do-not-disturb function for just this reason 🔕
Seems pretty cool. it looks like the display is just projected onto the right eye. How does this look in broad daylight walking outside? Is it still 100% visible?
@kelleymuro Focals are designed to be viewable in all environments, both indoors and outdoors 😃
Looks neat! Can we see what they look like on us via the site before buying? Or have return shipping ensured should we need to buy to try on? Do they connect to a smart phone? Where is our data stored as well?
@caroli_isautier We have a retail experiences in Brooklyn and Toronto that allow you to experience the glasses firsthand! And yes they connect to your smartphone via bluetooth.
@caroli_isautier @d0b0 So is there an api for messaging or displaying on screen?
@d0b0 we create all sorts of immersive content at BrandXR. How can we start building experiences for Focals?
@d0b0 congrats on the launch! Looks super slick. How is By North affiliated with Thalmic, if at all?
@alirtariq It's the same company - we rebranded from Thalmic Labs to North this morning 🚀
Kind of a techie question, but is the image project on the glass in focus ? And if yes, how is it possible for the eye to adjust and focus to an image that close to it ? Is there multiple layers of glass, or does the distances between the projector/glass/eye have to be very precise in order for it to work ? Thanks 😉
I'm pretty upset with the marketing. The whole point is that they are AR, but they barely show the functionality or talk about what exactly it can do feature wise. I care but don't really care about the look. If I'm going to spend $1000 show me how the tech is going to add to my life.
When will notifications for other applications be available? Was it a conscious decision to leave out social and email notifications made because the volume of these people get every day, hour, or even minute get would go against Focal's philosophy of being unobtrusive tech ‘designed to be off’? Would it feasible to make a whitelist of important email senders and social contacts you'd want to appear on your Focals?
Although I haven't used Alexa in Canada, my understanding is that its functionality in Canada is much more limited when compared to Google assistant or Alexa in the US. For Canadian users, isn't this going to make our Focal experience not as good as US users?
@alexbdavies Alexa functionality is mostly at par now for Canadian 🇨🇦users with a couple small caveats. We are working actively to make sure this is fixed 😃. In terms of notifications, we have included smartphone notifications in the experience but are very focused on figuring out ways to enable a more "present" approach to how you consume and deal with your important apps and services. More to say here in the future!
Thalmic had that great myo as well.
It's a great concept - love that you can have actual lenses (I need them) - and the joystick ring is fantastic -- but the actual interface seems simplistic, very android watch. Doesn't seem to be extensible in any way, no way to develop for it?
@grimmwerks we are 100% focused on understanding the form factor as we design and develop so that we can better understand how to make it extensible in the future. The experiences are focused on short, immediate interactions that help you get what you need quickly and nothing more. So by that logic it's simple on purpose!
Awesome product! Got a question, what techniques do you use for UI/UX development? How do you prototype in scope of so tricky UI?