North Makes It Easier to Try on Its Smartglasses With a New App

Measure up for your Focal smartglasses in the U.S. and Canada with North’s app

By Mark Jansen September 18, 2019

Prospective smartglass wearers in the U.S. and Canada can now measure up for their North Focal smartglasses by getting virtually measured in North‘s Focals Showroom app, allowing customers across North America access to the future of eyewear, no matter where they live.

Available on Apple’s iOS, the Focals Showroom app uses Apple’s Face ID technology as the basis to measure a person’s face in real time. Using other technology developed by San Francisco-based tech startup Standard Cyborg, the Focals Showroom app is able to take accurate 3D measurements of your face, and allow you to try on various Focals models virtually.

Measurements taken by the app will then be used to create your very own set of North Focal smartglasses, which will be sent to you a few weeks later. Final adjustments to the fit will then also be able to be made by the customer. North Focals are available with both prescription and nonprescription lenses.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Each pair of North’s Focals smartglasses are custom-made, so it used to be that customers would need to physically meet with North representatives in order to be measured for their smartglasses. Unfortunately, the only physical locations capable of doing so were the North Flagship Retail Showrooms in Toronto and Brooklyn. North tackled some of this problem by introducing two mobile Pop-Up Showrooms that have been touring major cities since February 2019 — but with the two mobile showrooms covering an area as large as North America, it was obvious something else would have to be done if the North Focals were to garner widespread appeal.

Whether smartglasses will take off as a popular item is a question that’s yet to be truly answered. North’s Focals are probably the first pair of smartglasses to come close to the smartglass dream — augmented glasses that look like normal glasses. Previous attempts, like the Vuzix Blade or the Google Glass, tended to fall on the wrong side of the fashion line. In short, if they looked like smartglasses, they probably weren’t going to make it in the real world. Unfortunately, no one wants to look like Geordi LaForge. Thankfully,

Will this new app help boost smartglasses into becoming an everyday item? It’s unlikely — but it will make them much available for anyone looking to try them out. If you’re looking to test out North’s new app, then you’ll need an iPhone X or newer.

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