Excellent AR glasses that fall just short of perfection

Of all the great science-fiction technology that’s making its way into our everyday lives, the heads-up display (HUD) is easily the most promising. 

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, think of The Terminator or Predator, where the main characters use computer vision to analyze the real world when they look around. All the information appears right in front of them — that is essentially what a HUD does for regular people here in the non-fiction world.

The HUD gets rid of the need to look at your smartphone or smartwatch when you need information. Instead, the HUD overlays digital images onto the real world, so you can spend more time focusing on your task at hand rather than looking down at a screen.

More practically, smart lenses could theoretically be used in everyday work life for their huge convenience factor. Meeting notifications, message alerts, and even directions can be projected onto the lenses without requiring the user to do much other than live their lives normally. 

This is ultimately what made Google Glass so appealing. More recently, it’s what propelled Magic Leap into becoming a multi-billion dollar company. And Microsoft’s Hololens is hoping to change medicine, engineering, and other industries too. Augmented reality is being used to change our retail experiences and the way we interact with the outside world.

But, there’s almost always a catch with augmented reality gadgets: The most obvious example is when the promising Google Glass headset  spawned the creation of  the term “Glasshole” for people who obnoxiously wore these headsets around in their everyday lives. Other alternatives like Magic Leap and Hololens both cost thousands of dollars and aren’t even consumer products just yet — so there are very few use-cases for them.

And yet, the company North is trying to make AR a reality with its Focals lenses, or what are essentially trendy-looking glasses with a tiny embedded projector that beams information onto a special film coating the lens.

You can wear Focals like regular old glasses, which make it easier to explore the real world without people getting anxious or wondering what the heck is on your head. Notifications and other information can be viewed within the Focals display area, and you can use a a ring-shaped joystick to control a small cursor on the user interface. It’s everything you want from a pair of smart lenses— minus the stigma.

Focals are targeted at people looking everyday AR, but they’re not quite ready for the mainstream. A hefty price tag, difficult controls, lack of mass transit directions, and a long production time offset the regular updates and functionality. But for now, Focals are a glimpse of an interesting world where AR is part of the everyday experience. 

Tech couture

Focals are not sold at large retailers, so I made my way to the Focals showroom in Brooklyn, New York to test them out. The company only has two showrooms, the other being in Toronto, Canada. The building in Brooklyn is nondescript in its branding. Just glass and brick. 

Stepping inside and you begin to see the minimalist design of the Focals. There are some mirrors that project messages on the concrete floor, mimicking the actual Focals experience. A delicately arranged stand display of frames is suspended in midair. A mirror-covered wall, perfect for selfies, is set behind a large partition separating the front from the intake room of sorts. I was greeted by a Focals representative, my appointment confirmed, and I was led upstairs.

A supplied headband and hair tie later, I was ready to have multiple cameras work together to create a 3D scan of my head. My ears and eyes received the most attention. The fit needed to be perfect because the Focals were going to be crafted to my face and my face alone in Toronto. A few stray hairs could obscure the saddle of your ear, for example. The cameras tracked my eye movement to ensure they would be aligned in the final product. Thousands of pairs were tried on by my disembodied 3D head before finding the right one.

After that, I was shown a demo of how my Focals would work. I chose my frames, tried out a few features, and my appointment was over. I needed to wait between 6-8 weeks before I could return to the showroom for my Focals.

Welcome to the perils of a bespoke experience at the cutting edge of technology. It’s one thing to preorder the latest gadget because you know you have to wait. Having to wait up to two months for a product you spent hundreds of dollars on is a tougher pill to swallow.

Luckily, you can return the Focals, minus a restocking fee, if they don’t meet your futuristic expectations when you receive them.

The weeks came and went. I told my friends and, later, forgot about the Focals. Eventually, I received an email that my Focals were ready and to pick up at the Brooklyn showroom. The process was seamless, there was an optometrist on hand who further customized and adjusted the Focals. I was now ready to experience an augmented world.

Fashion and tech

Focals don’t feel incredibly heavy and actually look pretty nice. There’s a hint that something’s different based on the thicker arms and a slight tint on the right lens. Other than that, they look like another pair of fashionable glasses. The kind you can see anyone wearing.

We downplay fashion, but it’s massively important for mainstream adoption. Tech can’t be too bulky or too distracting. That’s doubly important when you’re introducing something newer like a pair of smart glasses. The Focals look good and even the Loop, the ring-shaped controller, is subtle enough to be unobtrusive.

I chose the on-trend black-to-clear frames. They have a satisfying thickness to them and I can’t complain too much about their build. They were built specifically for my head. Any weirdness, or uniqueness, is accounted for. 

You can also grab a pair of clip-on shades to turn your Focals into sunglasses. The clip-ons bring the cool factor down a notch, but it’s the only practical way of making your Focals a viable option during the day.

Perhaps the only knock against style is the Focals charging case. It’s pretty large if you need to charge it during the day. It’s also covered in felt when a simple matte plastic would have worked better. Charging is relatively simple, but you might be doing more of it than you expect if you use the Focals often.

Focals on the go

The Focals are connected to your phone via an app. It’s a relatively simple process to setup, and the app has a robust set of features.

You can recalibrate your Focals within the app, and see what the developers are working on through the Experiments tab. You can turn all of these on to get a taste of what the Focals can be in the future. With regular updates, it’s worth checking in to see what’s new. 

A simple button press on the Loop wakes up the Focals. After quickly pairing with your phone, you’re ready to start using these augmented reality glasses. 

There’s a satisfying heft to the Focals, but it’s something you’ll notice over a long period of time. Additionally, the projector area is slightly warm leading to a tiny bit of sweat near my temple. You likely won’t notice this until you take them off, but it can be a distraction.

With the Focals on, I was ready to do things I would normally do on my phone. I could check the weather, see if I had any meetings, or read new messages. 

Perhaps most impressive is the level of developer support. There are weekly updates adding everything from trivia to language flashcards to Spotify controls to sports scores. That commitment makes you want to be an early adopter because that feature you want will likely be added sooner rather than later. 

And, for the most part, each feature worked well. Voice controls were generally accurate even in noisier situations. 

The biggest hurdle, for me, remains the lack of transit directions. Focals include walking directions and the ability to order an Uber, but no city-specific mass transit directions. 

Living in New York City, it would be great to have my whole trip mapped out in my Focals. It’d be even better if I was abroad. Instead of looking at my phone, I could have what I need at eye level. Unfortunately, there haven’t been any updates addressing that missing feature. 

Focals do show scheduled train departures where your near a subway, but I would like to know that ahead of time and not when I’m about to enter the station. 

Two last quibbles. You’re always going to need the sun clips if you’re wearing it during the day.  The display is no match for the sun even at the brightest level.

Lastly, I experienced some eye strain while wearing the Focals. My friends didn’t notice I was wearing smart glasses, or could see what I was seeing, but they did notice how my eyes adjusted as I used the Focals. It’s a small tell that lets them know you’re not quite so engaged.  At best, it looked like I was looking at something else. At worst, it looked like I was crossing my eyes. This could be due to how my eyes are set, but it does take away from the experience.

For now, Focals work better than you’d expect from a piece of first generation hardware. But, it still remains a nice, but not necessary smartphone accessory. If you already own a smartwatch, the Focals may be a hard sell at $500.

Focals by North is an intriguing look at what’s to come. The premise is very interesting and, for the most part, well-executed. But, there are some limitations that prevent it from being more than a slightly more useful smartwatch. 

I don’t ever want to champion mass production, but a little less couture may be better. If there were a few frame options that fit most heads well enough at a slightly lower point, for example. But, for now, the Focals are well-crafted and well-supported smart glasses that work well now and give us a preview of a future where smart glasses are ubiquitous.