14 DAY TRIAL // Canadian company North has announced that on July 31, its flagship product, the Focals 1.0 smart glasses, would just go offline, with its official mobile app to also be removed from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
North, which was according to CTV was founded in Thalmic Labs in 2012 and already planned to launch the second generation of its flagship product, has already abandoned the new version of the smart glasses.
In a statement on the company’s website, North explains that beginning July 31, customers would no longer be able to use their Focals to access online accounts.
“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,” it says.
No word from Google
Customers who ordered the smart glasses after June 30 are provided with a refund, according to the company.
While North hasn’t provided any information on the reasons for abandoning the product, the company actually confirmed that Focals 1.0 would be dropped when announcing the Google takeover.
“We’re proud to have grown our company in the Kitchener-Waterloo region and are thankful for the tremendous support we’ve received from the community. We are looking forward to remaining in the region with Google,” it said. “We are winding down Focals 1.0 and we will not be shipping Focals 2.0, but we hope you will continue the journey with us as we start this next chapter.”
Google hasn’t commented on North’s decision to discontinue its products and told the cited source that it has nothing else to add besides what the smart glass manufacturer has already explained in the statement published on its website.