# The return of smartglasses! Check out North’s Focals



## editor (Jan 25, 2019)

These look miles better than Google Glass at least. They come with a strange ring.







> Smartglasses dream of a world where you reach for your phone less. Notifications simply appear in front of you, so you can decide if it’s necessary to disrupt what you are doing and pull out your phone. Yet past attempts have been bulky, awkward, and more annoying than the problem they tried to solve.
> 
> North’s Focals, however, are a success. They’re the first smartglasses I want to wear, succeeding where Google Glass faltered. They look great, compared to everything else on the market with similar features, and the software is slick. Like a smartwatch, it serves as an extension of your phone, showing you notifications, the ability to access Alexa and respond to text messages. Imagine doing all that while walking down a busy street in New York, your phone still in your pocket









https://www.digitaltrends.com/wearables/north-focals-impressions/


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## editor (Jan 25, 2019)

More here: Discover Focals - North


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## pesh (Jan 25, 2019)

editor said:


> They come with a strange ring.


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## Sweet FA (Jan 25, 2019)

Shippy def has that manga


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## skyscraper101 (Jan 25, 2019)

I like the idea. Though I'm not sure how much use I'd actually get from it.

At least they don't make you look like a prat, a la Google Glass.


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## editor (Jan 25, 2019)

skyscraper101 said:


> I like the idea. Though I'm not sure how much use I'd actually get from it.
> 
> At least they don't make you look like a prat, a la Google Glass.


I'd LOVE it if there were glasses that told me the name of the person who I know very well but whose name escapes me.


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## 8ball (Jan 25, 2019)

editor said:


> I'd LOVE it if there were glasses that told me the name of the person who I know very well but whose name escapes me.



I listened to a podcast of a guy who made the computer that became part of a prototype for Google glass (some of the software at least) and it did exactly this.  He had a big computer strapped to him all the time which told him all sorts of stuff.

They are making some progress with a tech that projects images directly onto the retina, so your dream may come true before all that long.


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## editor (Jan 25, 2019)

8ball said:


> I listened to a podcast of a guy who made the computer that became part of a prototype for Google glass (some of the software at least) and it did exactly this.  He had a big computer strapped to him all the time which told him all sorts of stuff.
> 
> They are making some progress with a tech that projects images directly onto the retina, so your dream may come true before all that long.


Be great for people with all manner of more serious memory problems.


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## 8ball (Jan 25, 2019)

editor said:


> Be great for people with all manner of more serious memory problems.



I guess. It would tell him stuff when he was talking to someone like "mother was ill last year" or "got married to x this March" etc. and he said it helped a lot with developing his relationships with people.   So it was interesting how as well as the mapping and tracking and all manner of stuff he could do, it really helped with what you'd normally call the "human stuff".

He looked pretty odd in this clunky kit, but when he was asked about the disadvantages of having it on every waking hour he said "well, you have to charge it"...

I think this might be him.

edit:  It definitely is - here's a transcript of the podcast (it has a slightly odd house style, so is a little off-putting to read, I expect the actual podcast is floating around out there too)


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 27, 2019)

Sweet FA said:


> Shippy def has that manga


Strange rings or wierd tech?

or both?


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## 19sixtysix (Jan 27, 2019)

editor said:


> I'd LOVE it if there were glasses that told me the name of the person who I know very well but whose name escapes me.



I'd love some glasses to tell me who I'm talking to at work who knows my name. This is happening too much for it to be comfortable.


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## 8ball (Jan 27, 2019)

That’s easily fixed, you just construct a running joke where you call everyone Bob.


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## Sweet FA (Jan 27, 2019)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> Strange rings or wierd tech?
> 
> or both?


Both. And an octopus probably.


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## editor (Mar 27, 2019)

These make a bit more sense 



> Initially called as the *Huawei x Gentle Monster Eyewear*, this pair of smart glasses features some stereo speakers, dual mic, antenna, a chipset, and a battery.
> 
> Believe it or not, the pair doesn’t feature any camera so you’d be asking what is the point of this gadget. Well, with beamforming technology, it can be used for making and taking voice calls. It’s a new Bluetooth accessory that can very well replace your headset.





Huawei Gentle Monster Smart Glasses previewed, launching this summer


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Mar 27, 2019)

8ball said:


> I guess. It would tell him stuff when he was talking to someone like "mother was ill last year" or "got married to x this March" etc. and he said it helped a lot with developing his relationships with people.   So it was interesting how as well as the mapping and tracking and all manner of stuff he could do, it really helped with what you'd normally call the "human stuff".



I'd imagine that when this tech gets more common place it will feel creepy when the person is using it.


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## 8ball (Mar 27, 2019)

editor said:


> These make a bit more sense
> 
> 
> 
> Huawei Gentle Monster Smart Glasses previewed, launching this summer




Hang on, is that just a headset that means you can't wear prescription glasses, or am I missing something?
They don't mention any projection tech..


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## editor (Mar 27, 2019)

8ball said:


> Hang on, is that just a headset that means you can't wear prescription glasses, or am I missing something?
> They don't mention any projection tech..


From what I can work out, they're more or less ordinary glasses that would replace a Bluetooth earpiece which look shit. I assume it'll take prescription lenses.


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## 8ball (Mar 27, 2019)

editor said:


> From what I can work out, they're more or less ordinary glasses that would replace a Bluetooth earpiece which look shit. I assume it'll take prescription lenses.



Ok, so more of a cosmetic earpiece option than smartglasses as such.


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## skyscraper101 (Mar 27, 2019)

I was inventing something a bit like this in my head earlier. Spooky. I like the idea of it anyway. Though, it makes more sense for people who wear glasses all the time, so that rules me out.

I wonder how loud it is compared to a regular earpiece?


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## 8ball (Mar 27, 2019)

I guess one problem to be overcome is that people are very picky about frames and fashions in frame styles get cycled every few years.


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## editor (Mar 27, 2019)

8ball said:


> I guess one problem to be overcome is that people are very picky about frames and fashions in frame styles get cycled every few years.


But some people are happy to pay hundreds of pounds to own a selection of fashionable styles.


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## 8ball (Mar 27, 2019)

editor said:


> But some people are happy to pay hundreds of pounds to own a selection of fashionable styles.



Exactly.  So you really need some tech that can be ported across frame styles for both cases if you want it to be substantially used.
This could possibly be feasible if you had a small enough HD-VRD that could be made compatible with a set of frames with some associated parts (camera(s), maybe some sound tech similar to in those glasses you posted, probably an accelerometer), which could link wirelessly to a hub kept on your person.

Then the glasses are really just a frame for mounting the tech.

I doubt I'm the first to think of this - sure there are technical hurdles.


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## editor (Mar 27, 2019)

8ball said:


> Exactly.  So you really need some tech that can be ported across frame styles for both cases if you want it to be substantially used.
> This could possibly be feasible if you had a small enough HD-VRD that could be made compatible with a set of frames with some associated parts (camera(s), maybe some sound tech similar to in those glasses you posted, probably an accelerometer), which could link wirelessly to a hub kept on your person.
> 
> Then the glasses are really just a frame for mounting the tech.
> ...


Or maybe people will just buy one or two pairs for the times they feel they need this tech onboard. I can't imagine any kind of 'bolt on' functionality looking particularly elegant.


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## 8ball (Mar 27, 2019)

editor said:


> Or maybe people will just buy one or two pairs for the times they feel they need this tech onboard. I can't imagine any kind of 'bolt on' functionality looking particularly elegant.



Maybe, but at the moment it is in direct conflict with how the spectacles market has become a fashion market (overseen by a very small cartel of companies - one for another thread perhaps).  I think having duplicate complete sets isn’t going to fly except for very wealthy tech-heads.

I agree that unless the ‘bolt ons’ are very small and probably use a subset of frames with standardised proprietary mounts, then it would be too clunky to be viable for market.

I expect there are people in rooms talking about such formats right now (my company, for example, has a ‘wearables’ division and is a long way from this market segment).  There is a lot of investment going into this sort of thing from various quarters, especially with the 'maturing' of the smartphone market).


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