North will stop making its Focals glasses to focus on its second generation - The Verge

North, the company behind the augmented reality Focals glasses, is no longer selling its current glasses and is instead focusing on a second-generation set that’ll be available next year.

The company wouldn’t provide details on the new glasses and instead would only say the device will be 40 percent lighter and sleeker. It’ll also incorporate a higher-resolution display. The team also released a teaser image of frames with a more mainstream look.

North operates two showrooms for the Focals, and for now, the one in Brooklyn, New York, will be open only by request. The Canadian location will remain open during its existing hours.

Although North launched its Focals in January 2019, it hasn’t been the most successful launch. Within less than a month, the company cut the price of the glasses nearly in half, down to $599.99 from $999. Around that same time, the company laid off 150 employees, potentially in the manufacturing department. Even with the price drop and layoffs, the company maintained at the time that it had a “great few months” at the company’s start. CEO and co-founder Stephen Lake said the layoffs were necessary to keep developing its smart glasses.

“We decided to lay off a number of employees yesterday in order to focus our resources and ensure we have sufficient runway to execute on our upcoming milestones over the next 18-24 months,” he said at the time. “This was a difficult decision, but a necessary one to ensure long-term success.”

The company wouldn’t comment on how many units it has shipped of the first-generation Focals glasses.

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2019-12-10 13:00:00Z
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