North stops selling its Focals AR glasses to focus on version 2.0

North, the company behind the shockingly-not-ugly Focals augmented reality smart glasses, is no longer selling the face computers anymore. North says it's now sprinting toward work on version 2.0, which is slated for release in 2020.

Lighter and more powerful — According to North, version 2.0 of Focals will be lighter thanks to a 40% miniaturization of the components. The AR glasses will also have a "new 10x improved retinal display." North also promises more prescription lens options.

The war for your face — Google Glass might have failed spectacularly, but companies aren't giving up on putting computers and cameras on our faces just yet. Snap still believes its Spectacles have a future; CEO Evan Spiegel says its latest Spectacles 3.0 is part of a 10-year plan to bring AR glasses to fruition.

Facebook has made it no secret it's working on AR glasses. Microsoft is still plugging away at HoloLens. Amazon's approaching the face with Echo Frames — they're not quite AR, unless you consider Alexa to be a type of audio augmentation. Oppo just announced its own HoloLens-like AR headset.

The biggest elephant in the room is, of course, Apple. The company is rumored to be working on its own AR glasses, which are rumored for a release in 2022, according to Bloomberg. Tim Cook has expressed immense interest in AR over the past years and remains bullish on its potential.

But can any company make AR glasses that won't make you look like an asshole? Who knows. Focals seems determined to try.