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ces 2019

North Launches the New $1,000 Focals Smart Glasses

It was 2013 when Google launched its first pair of smart glasses. The company brought the glasses too soon, as it lacked in the technical factors and was the biggest failure in terms of privacy, battery, looks as well as the functionalities. The company had to discontinue the product and recycle the ones it had already produced. After Google’s smart glasses, many other companies also tried their hands in the same but was not much successful.

focals
Image Source: techspot.com

This time a company named North has put its all efforts to create a similar product, i.e. Focals Smart Glasses, that it introduced at the CES 2019. The smart glasses look just like the normal spectacles, which consists of a touchpad, camera and a hidden projector placed behind the right lens of the glasses.

The UI for the glasses is a circular piece of polygraphic film which projects like a head-up display of a car dashboard. Using the glasses, the user can search, use the navigation, and also book an uber. The glasses also have got the support for voice text and have the inbuilt Alexa. It allows the user to check time and date as well as the weather.

The Focals comes with a Loop, a ring worn on the finger with a tiny four-direction joystick through which the user can control its menu. Also, it can be connected to the Smartphone through the Bluetooth so that the user can check the messages, notification, etc.

Just like the smartwatches, the vocals of the smart glasses are also there to alert the user about the important notifications. The Alexa in the smartphone can communicate with the smart home device and control them. The glasses can be customized according to one’s fit by taking proper measurements. A single pair of glasses will cost a $1000.

Although Google has already failed in the same technology, with the improved battery life, processor and optics, we can expect that North’s Focals may have some good scope in future. Also, Apple has been planning to launch its smart glasses in a few years. So, there may be a good hope for the glasses as to become a regular, but important gadget like any other, in the coming future.

Whirlpool to Launch Wear OS App to Expand the Mobile Connectivity for its Appliances

wearable
Image Source: wsj.com

The biggest home appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corporation has announced that it is going launch a wear OS app, powered by Google, for its connected home appliances, in the coming event of CES 2019. The 107 years old company has been introducing unique and innovative technologies every once in a while, and now it is again pushing the bars with its new idea of controlling the home gadgets with the help of a wearable OS app.

The app will help the user to keep a track of and control the appliances like the microwave oven, speakers, washing machine, etc. The company has also mentioned that it has simplified voice commands to its Smart Laundry appliances for both Google Assistant and Alexa devices.

The General Manager, WLabs of Whirlpool Corporation, Doug Searles, said, “Innovations from labs are designed to deliver on people’s unanswered questions and pain points.” He further added, “Our engineers and designers push the boundaries of what the general public knows and recognizes as a Whirlpool product, and redefine what a home appliance can achieve. Whether delivering on a specific, singular need or making multiple steps in the cooking process easier, each of the WLabs innovations coming to the marketplace gives us a view of what the future of cooking will look like.”

The app will preferably work for the ovens, washers and the dryers. The user will be competent to see the current oven status and monitor it through commands given to the app, even during an active cycle. Same for the washers and the dryer, the user will be able to watch the status and handle them with various options in an active cycle.

Although it’s not the first time when Whirlpool is extending its functionality using a wearable, it has already launched the same with the Apple Watch in the early last year. But this time, Whirlpool has come with a Google OS app, that will now enable the android users to enjoy this innovative facility. The launch will take place in the CES 2019 event in the coming week, and the Whirlpool Wear OS app will go live soon in the first half of the year.