WATERLOO, Ontario—North, makers of Focals smart glasses, announced Tuesday that its next generation product, Focals 2.0, will begin shipping in 2020. In preparation for the launch, North is no longer offering its first generation of Focals, which it introduced in October, 2018. “The first generation of Focals marked the evolution of traditional glasses to smart glasses, with a considered design representing the first true everyday smart glasses available on the market,” said Stephen Lake, CEO and co-founder of North. “Focals 2.0 are at a completely different level, as the most advanced smart glasses ever made. They represent an enormous step forward in engineering the future. We spent the last year in the market learning how to build, sell and support smart glasses with our first generation product, that we now will combine with over five years of research working on the technology upgrades in Focals 2.0.”

For the second generation of Focals, North miniaturized its technology by 40 percent, making the smart glasses lighter and sleeker. The smart glasses will also feature an improved retinal display that is ten times sharper than the previous version, according to North.

North operates retail showrooms in Brooklyn and Toronto as well as mobile pop-up showrooms that have been touring major cities since February 2019. Most recently, North debuted the Focals Showroom iOS app, enabling customers to complete the required sizing process (via an iPhone X or above) and purchase Focals online.