About a year after launching the original Focals, North has announced that the second generation of its stylish smart glasses will ship in 2020.

In 2018, Canadian startup North made its name in the smart glasses industry by launching a pair of intelligent specs that actually look (and function) like a stylish pair of conventional prescription glasses despite their tech-containing temples. On Dec 10, the company announced that Focals 2.0 will launch in 2020.

According to North, the technology integrated into the glasses has shrunk by 40%, making the specs lighter and the frames thinner. Compared to the previous iteration, the retina display has been improved by 10x.

While the heads-up display - an interface that made digital content appear as if it was floating in front of the wearer - was the star feature of the glasses, North states that it is "moving beyond a heads-up display that offers instant access to your digital life toward a future where computing moves into the world around us". The company did not go into further detail.

The original Focals were available for purchase starting at US$599 throughout the United States and Canada, so it's likely that the second generation will be available in the same region. Though North did not disclose when exactly Focals 2.0 will launch, the brand promised that it would ship in 2020.

 - AFP Relaxnews