The Red Bulletin September 2019 (UK)

Equipment
SEE
Augment your eyes
Focals by North smartglasses
1
We’ve long been promised spectacles with a
digital display, but early efforts have proven
less practical than pulling out your phone
– and they lack the style of regular specs.
These frames are smart in every sense and
deliver messages, notifications and map
directions to the holographic lenses via your
phone’s Bluetooth. Control comes from a
button-and-joystick ring worn on the finger,
or by asking Alexa. But take note: getting a
pair involves a bespoke sizing at one of North’s
two showrooms (Brooklyn or Toronto), then
a final fitting eight weeks later. bynorth.com
3
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4
6
5
DAVID EDWARDS
PAY
The credit card
reinvented
The titanium Apple Card
The credit card is so embedded
in our psyche, we barely question
its design, but that’s what Apple
did for the physical counterpart
to its new digital payment service.
Ditching the forge-able signature
and CVV on the rear, and numbers
on the front, it features only what’s
needed for swipe or contactless
payment – chip, magnetic strip,
owner’s name – and withdrawals
at an ATM. Not currently available
outside the US, the card is meant
only as a flashy substitute for the
app. Cut from a single piece of
titanium, it is nonetheless a thing
of beauty. apple.com/apple-card
7
8
Front:
1. Apple logo
2. Symmetrical
‘six-pill’ chip
3. With no card
number, each
payment generates
a one-off
virtual number
Rear:
4. Card issuer’s
logo
5. Magnetic strip
6. Titanium is
tougher, more flexible
and 40 per cent
lighter than plastic
Left:
7. A CNC (Computer
Numerical Control)
cutting tool carves
out space for the chip
8. Apple’s logo is laseretched
twice to create
a V-shaped groove
that reflects light
THE RED BULLETIN 83