Pearl Automation, the vehicle accessory company founded by ex-Apple engineers and which debuted its $500 "RearVision" wireless backup camera system just one year ago, has shut down following poor sales of the device, reports Axios.

pearl rearvision device

What happened: Early product sales disappointed, which was exacerbated by a high burn rate.

What next? The Pearl Automation team received several "acqui-hire" offers, but opted instead to shut down and part ways, according to a source close to the situation.

RearVision, which went on sale last September, was a license plate frame with dual HD cameras, solar power, and Bluetooth to wirelessly connect to an OBD port hub and an iPhone or Android phone. While it was a slick and easy to install system, the $500 price tag undoubtedly contributed to its downfall.

Pearl appears to have had larger ambitions related to autonomous driving technology and driver safety, but with its initial project suffering from poor sales, the company lacked the resources to push forward on its follow-up products.

Tags: Pearl, RearVision

Top Rated Comments

wlossw Avatar
wlossw
111 months ago
The kind of people willing to spend 500$ on this kind of thing already drive a car with a backup camera...
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zorinlynx Avatar
zorinlynx
111 months ago
Yeeeah, backup cameras are mature technology that shouldn't cost $500. Not surprised it failed.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Apple_Robert Avatar
Apple_Robert
111 months ago
I think at $125.00, they would have faired much better, especially for those who would like to have the new technology fot a slightly older car.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mouse man Avatar
Mouse man
111 months ago
Yep. Saw that one comin'. ('https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/23043116/')
We should give you a cookie
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
levitynyc Avatar
levitynyc
111 months ago
Being all new cars will be required to have a backup camera by 2018, they should've seen the writing on the wall for this.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oneMadRssn Avatar
oneMadRssn
111 months ago
Yea, when a wireless license-plate frame backup camera with a wireless 7" LCD screen costs about $60-75, this product was immediately a non-starter. I don't care how much better their design and software was, nobody is going to pay nearly 10x for it.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
Read Full Article • 90 comments
Apple Logo Top Half

Early iOS 26 Software Leak Uncovers Dozens of Upcoming Apple Features

Monday December 15, 2025 3:05 pm PST by
Software from an iPhone prototype running an early build of iOS 26 leaked last week, giving us a glimpse at future Apple devices and iOS features. We recapped device codenames in our prior article, and now we have a list of some of the most notable feature flags that were found in the software code. In some cases, it's obvious what the feature flags are referring to, while some are more...
Read Full Article • 31 comments
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple Leak Confirms Work on Foldable iPhone, AirTag 2, and Dozens More Devices

Monday December 15, 2025 2:05 pm PST by
Last week, details about unreleased Apple devices and future iOS features were shared by Macworld. This week, we learned where the information came from, plus we have more findings from the leak. As it turns out, an Apple prototype device running an early build of iOS 26 was sold, and the person who bought it shared the software. The OS has a version number of 23A5234w, and the first...
Read Full Article • 78 comments
Apple Foldable Thumb

Leak Reveals Foldable iPhone Details

Monday December 15, 2025 9:09 am PST by
The first foldable iPhone will feature a series of design and hardware firsts for Apple, according to details shared by the Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station. According to a new post, via machine translation, Apple is developing what the leaker describes as a "wide foldable" device, a term used to refer to a horizontally oriented, book-style foldable with a large internal display....
Read Full Article • 154 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 Beta 1 Features: What's New So Far

Monday December 15, 2025 4:23 pm PST by
Apple is testing iOS 26.3, the next version of iOS 26 that will launch around January. Since iOS 26.3's testing is happening over the holidays, it is a smaller update with fewer features than we've seen in prior betas. We've rounded up what's new so far, and we'll add to our list with subsequent betas if we come across any other features. Transfer to Android Apple is making it simpler...
Read Full Article • 37 comments
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Read Full Article • 111 comments
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Read Full Article • 82 comments
airpods max 2024 colors

AirPods Max 2 Likely to Offer These 10 New Features

Monday December 15, 2025 7:41 am PST by
Apple released the AirPods Max on December 15, 2020, meaning the over-ear headphones launched five years ago today. While the AirPods Max were updated with a USB-C port and new color options last year, followed by support for lossless audio and ultra-low latency audio this year, the headphones lack some of the features that have been introduced for newer generations of the regular AirPods and the ...
Read Full Article • 36 comments