What happened to the Beal Birdie?

Looking at the Lifeguard brought me somehow to the Birdie. Seemed to be a bit of momentum and then never released? 

REI has it listed as ​preorder​​​

So it's literally just an all steel Lifeguard?

That weighs more than a gri gri +. 

Mike Knight wrote: That weighs more than a gri gri +. 

That thing weighs just shy of half a pound......it's literally half the weight of the thermarest pad I just bought recently.  Granted the tradeoff is that thing will last for life being all steel, and it's also going to have at least some effect on extending the life of your ropes.

You can use it for finger curls on your left hand while sitting on belay and get a good workout. I liked the small profile like the Lifeguard but had no idea it would be that damn heavy. Screw it. Buying another Grigri. 

Let's get some perspective here:
Lifeguard - 154g
Birdie - 210g
new Grigri - 175g
Grigri+ - 200g
8oz of water - 237g

EpicTV says availability is now late June to early July. 

It replaces two pieces of gear: your Grigri and your ground anchor!