Google has bought North, a company focused on building augmented reality glasses. The companies announced the news earlier today, saying North’s “technical expertise” will help Google invest in its “hardware efforts and the future of environmental computing.”
Details of the deal, including how much Google paid, were not disclosed. With the acquisition, North says it will reduce the functionality of its Focals smart lenses, meaning that users who spent up to $ 1,000 on a first-generation pair last year will soon be unable to wear them.
North released Focals 1.0 in January 2019, and within a month of its release, it cut its price nearly in half to $ 599.99. The glasses have a small laser on the arm that projects images in front of the user’s eyes. Focals pair with users’ phones via Bluetooth to display notifications, provide directions, and call an Uber. In December last year, the company announced that it would stop making the original version to focus on a second-generation pair. The company no longer plans to launch that device, North says in its acquisition announcement.
North’s brief career in selling smart glasses was not easy. The company laid off 150 employees last year to keep it afloat. Employees also warned the company’s leadership that the glasses were too expensive and too male-oriented. Still, the company will remain in Kitchener-Waterloo, Canada, after its acquisition of Google, and Google says it will continue to work on environmental computing or build a world where technology “fades into the background.” Google also says it is “committed to the growing global technology community” in North’s hometown.
Google, of course, has continued to push its Google Glass product, making it a product for companies and developers. He surrendered with a consumer headset after Glass initially launched seven years ago. It is unclear if North will assist in the development of that product, although its IP and experience are unlikely to harm it.
