North, the company behind the Focals smartglasses, announced this week that it's updating its glasses to add some much-needed new functionality. As I mentioned in the past, the most interesting thing for me, and what I was expecting to see in my previous review, is support for Spotify. Users will be able to skip songs, see the title/artist of a track, and adjust the volume of a connected listening device from a feature called Loop.
The companies are also working on updates to the directions that will provide transit and delay measures. Until now, Focals could only offer walking directions or the ability to call an Uber. They don't provide driving directions, likely because Focals turn off when they "sense" that the driver is driving.
Additionally, the company introduced a feature called “Rewind” that takes advantage of the glasses’ built-in microphone. The glasses record voice notes, send them back to North’s servers, which then process and transcribe them. Users will receive an email with the notes in audio and text after they’ve been processed.
All of these features are nice and important to the company's survival. When I reviewed the glasses in February, I highlighted the fact that they didn't support transit directions — a must-have for everyone — and that they lacked music playback — a major reason why someone has to check their phone frequently.
We’ll let you know later how well transit delays are detected and how much the experience improves with the new features through Spotify. North says that some features may not be available to non- Spotify. But overall, these features will enhance the Focals experience, which is much-needed for the company, given that it laid off 150 employees in February in its production department.
