Focals 'Smart' Glasses Become Dumb As A Brick After Google Acquisition
from the you-don't-own-what-you-buy dept
Time and time again we've highlighted how, in the modern era, you don't really own the hardware you buy. Music, ebooks, and videos can disappear on a dime without recourse, your game console can lose important features after a purchase, and a wide variety of "smart" tech can quickly become dumb as a rock in the face of company struggles, hacks, or acquisitions, leaving you with pricey paperweights where innovation once stood.
The latest case in point: Google acquired Waterloo, Ontario based North back in June. For several years, North had been selling AR capable "smart" glasses dubbed Focal. Generally well reviewed, Focal glasses started at $600, went dramatically up from there, and required you visit one of two North stores -- either in Brooklyn or Toronto -- to carefully measure your head using 11 3D modeling cameras. The glasses themselves integrated traditional prescription glasses with smart technology, letting you enjoy a heads up display and AR notifications directly from your phone.
But with the Google acquisition, North posted a statement to its website, stating the company was forced to make the "difficult decision" to wind down support for Focal as of the end of July, at which point the "smart" tech will become rather dumb:
Sorry, your smart glasses are now just dumb glasses. pic.twitter.com/IZy8w5vJlv
— Joanna Stern (@JoannaStern) July 28, 2020
The full blog post notes that not only will it be killing off all online functionality for its first generation of Focal glasses, but it's cancelling production of its second generation, Focal 2.0 product:
"Focals smart glasses and its services are being discontinued and will no longer be available after July 31st, 2020. You won’t be able to connect your glasses through the app or use any features, abilities, or experiments from your glasses...We will not be shipping Focals 2.0, but we hope you will continue the journey with us as we start this next chapter."
Fortunately, the company says it's giving an automatic refund to all Focals 1.0 customers, though we'll have to see how well that works out in practice as the company shifts the lion's share of its focus toward getting swallowed up by Google and spending wheelbarrows full of acquisition money. Still, whether it's your smart glasses or your smart pet food bowl, it's yet another example of how sticking with dumb tech is very often less hassle and the better option.
Filed Under: ar, brick, focals, ownership, smart technology
Companies: google, north
