NEW YORK, April 9 — Focals smart glasses, from North, can now control your music, offer information about your commute, record your meetings, and show your friends exactly what you’re seeing through Lenscast, a feature that puts your Focals digital display into your smartphone’s live camera feed.
Since Ontario, Canada-based startup North launched Focals last October, the price of the specs has dropped and the company has laid off over 100 employees; despite these trip-ups, however, the company still manages to update their product’s tech on a very regular basis. On Friday, North announced that the latest collection of new features is especially useful for busy professionals on the go.
What's new on Focals? We're releasing new features weekly, and we've put together a recap for you in a blog post from North's Head of Product, Walter Hermsen. Check it out! We're only just getting started 👓 https://t.co/f9aqBGus99 #smartglasses #focalsbynorth pic.twitter.com/Uu2wjsvlQp
— North (@focalsbynorth) April 5, 2019
Music control
Focals now support Spotify Connect, allowing you to control music from your specs. Specifically, you have the ability to skip songs (if you’re a Spotify Premium user), see music information like the title and artist, and adjust the volume of connected devices. Music can also be controlled via the smart glasses’ accompanying control ring, the Loop, when the glasses display is off.
Commute Information
North has updated Focals to suggest the quickest transit route options while also letting you know if there will be any delays. Furthermore, you can send your contacts your estimated time of arrival.
Email updates
By tapping the Loop a couple times, an email can be sent to your colleagues informing them that you will be late for a meeting or won’t be able to make it.
Meeting recording
A new feature called Rewind, when enabled, will record the audio content of a meeting. When it’s over, you’ll receive the recording as well as a transcribed text copy of the meeting in an email.
Share your experience
To show your friends and family exactly what you see with your Focals on, the company introduced Lenscast, a feature that “places your Focals display on top of your smartphone’s live camera feed”. Whatever you see on your specs, your friends can see on your smartphone.
Focals are available with or without a prescription in a small selection of colours and styles starting at US$599 (RM2,455). — AFP-Relaxnews
