New Facebook Portals Add Portable Option and More Homework Intelligence

Many of us have become accustomed to video chatting in our professional and personal lives. We have learned to share screens, add cool virtual backgrounds and maybe, just maybe find that elusive mute button.

Smart screens can play a role in communicating with loved ones and bosses miles away. Now Facebook is adding to its range of Portal devices for even more virtual tour options.

The release of two new devices shows how the social media giant wants to play an even bigger role in our daily lives as the pandemic fuels the popularity of video chat. Still, privacy concerns around Facebook could make people think twice about buying Portal devices, especially when they have plenty of other options for smart displays.

Go portal

I have to hand it over to Facebook, the company fixed an issue that no other major smart display maker has: portability. Portal Go is battery powered. It charges with a small magnetic charging station; a nifty handle on the back makes it easy to carry around your home. The shape and the fabric cover remind me of the little one Lenovo Smart Clock 2. The Portal Go includes a 12 megapixel camera and a screen with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels.

The Portal Go is essentially an updated original Portal with a battery and a handle. It will cost $ 199 (£ 199, AU $ 279). The original portal is still in range with a slightly lower price of $ 180 in Facebook online shop. The Portal Go scores points for portability, but I wonder why a consumer wouldn’t benefit more from a similarly priced tablet equipped with a larger app store like Amazon or even Google Play.

Spec-wise, both the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 and the Amazon Fire HD 10 have a better screen resolution than the Portal (2,000×1,200 and 1,920×1,200 pixels respectively). The ability to download Amazon and Google smart home apps makes them just as capable in the home. The Portal does have the better camera, with 12 megapixels compared with the 8- and 5-megapixel cameras of the Tab A7 and the 5- and 2-megapixel cameras of the Fire HD 10. And the Portal can stand on its own — but buy a folio case for your tablet and you’re all set too.  

I asked Facebook what might convince someone to make the switch from a tablet to the Portal. Lisa Auslen, communications lead at Facebook, pointed out that the wide-angle, panning camera and tuned audio make it better for video-calling than a tablet, and that built-in Facebook Assistant and Amazon Alexa features are an advantage. Then there’s the Household Mode feature. 

“[The] The portal is intended to be used as a common device available to everyone in the house. Tablets are really designed as personal devices and are generally not used in a way that household members can rely on their availability, ”said Auslen. “Household mode is an example of how we build on that – a home computer that can be shared, and anyone can use it to make a call and provide a more personalized experience with our support for. multiple users. ”

Portal Plus (2nd generation)

The second generation of the Portal Plus is sleeker than the original Portal Plus, but the screen is smaller, at 14 inches compared to the original 15.6-inch model. It has the same price of $ 349 (£ 349, AU $ 519) as the first-gen Portal Plus.

You’ll get the same 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera as the Portal Go, but a better screen resolution at 2160 x 1440 pixels. The large screen of the Portal Plus allows a gallery of 25 people in Zoom and you can rotate and tilt it manually.

Notable features

Both new models can pan and zoom to follow you around the room. It was a novelty when the first portals came out, but now the Echo show 10 can do that too. The new work-centric portals come with new apps, including a Calendar app that can sync with your Outlook or Google calendar.

As with previous portals, you can say “Hey, Portal” to wake it up, make calls, and perform a handful of other functions. You can also say “Alexa” to access Amazon’s digital assistant. Facebook has added an Alexa interface screen for these new models, so you can do more than just call up the assistant and see a blue wave indicator. It’s a welcome improvement over the muffled experience of the original portals.

Special effects features like AR masks, AR games, and story time are still on board. An updated Watch Together feature lets you watch content with friends on any device. Previously, Watch Together required a portal-to-portal call. Now it is accessible on any mix of devices with Messenger. Watch Together streams content from Facebook’s internal studio, Facebook Watch.

A new foyer mode makes the portal a more manageable device for the whole family. You can choose which apps to share with everyone and which contacts are available to everyone in Messenger or WhatsApp so that your 4 year old does not call your boss.

Who needs a portal?

Portals are partly marketed as a teleworker accessory that many of us have become since the Coronavirus pandemic hit. With multiple conferencing platforms on board – BlueJeans, GoToMeeting, Workplace, Webex, and Zoom, with Microsoft Teams coming in December – the pitch of these new portals is felt more by businesses than individuals.

Facebook says businesses can buy these new smart displays in bulk through Facebook for Business, a service that turns portals into business devices, with features like required password updates and wiping and redrawing. remote restart. Employees can use a Facebook Work account instead of a personal account.

“One of the big hurdles we’ve faced with adoption … by workers is that their companies really want to have these simple tools to manage and deploy these devices,” said Micah Collins, chief executive officer. products for Portal. Collins said Portal Plus might be a more popular choice for remote working because of its larger screen. Portal Go can be useful for chatting with friends and families when children or others move to different rooms.

Earlier in the pandemic, CNET spoke to people who bought Portal devices for older parents. Research firm Strategy Analytics said that while sales of the portal have increased, the device is still not very popular. Facebook portal devices accounted for 1.1% of global smart speaker and smart display shipments in the second quarter of this year, according to Strategy Analytics.

“Probably the biggest hurdle for Facebook is that consumers are reluctant to let Facebook monitor them and collect even more data than it already does. A second goal to consider is that consumers simply don’t see Facebook as a hardware / appliance company, ”said Jack Narcotta, senior industry analyst at Strategy Analytics, which covers smart home devices and services.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the new portals were linked to the social network’s efforts to create a “metaverse“, a virtual space where you can be present with other people. The social network has tested a way to organize meetings in virtual reality. “The portal is going to be a gateway for a lot of people to engage in some of these experiences, right from their homes or offices or wherever they have it,” he said in a live video Tuesday.

Confidentiality issues remain

When Facebook launched its original portal displays in 2018 we reviewed them but didn’t feel comfortable recommending anyone to make a purchase. The Cambridge Analytica Data Breach was at the forefront of a larger discussion about privacy and how mega-businesses like Google, Facebook and Apple operate when it comes to consumer data. Since the scandal, Facebook has come under intense scrutiny. As recently as last week, new searches on Facebook owned by Instagram’s negative effect on teens surfaced.

That hasn’t stopped Facebook from deepening product development. A collaboration between Ray-Ban and Facebook has produced new sunglasses equipped with a camera in what looks like an ironic embrace of the spy aesthetic.

On portal devices, Facebook includes privacy features. You can set a screen lock password for access control. You can turn off the microphone and camera with a single tap or use the physical camera shutter. A red light will let you know that these privacy measures are in place.

Encryption is present for WhatsApp calls and Facebook’s Messenger app will soon have end-to-end encryption for Portal voice and video calls, but only for contacts and groups you specify. Not offering end-to-end encryption by default on all calls and chats is a red flag.

Collins said customer concerns are “complex,” but the company listens to feedback while taking user privacy and security “extremely seriously.” In 2019, Facebook temporarily suspended human review of audio after Bloomberg reported contractors listened to “Hey, Portal” clips to improve the accuracy of the device’s software. Portal users can disable the storage of their “Hey, Portal” interactions in the device settings or delete this data.

Portal pre-orders begin today, and devices will begin shipping on October 19. You can pre-order your portal from Facebook directly or at retailers, including Amazon and Best Buy in the United States and Canada. The portals are available in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.

Considering Facebook’s past and current privacy concerns, I’m still wary of suggesting that a Facebook portal is a good addition to your home. I’ll be reviewing Portal Go and Portal Plus in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for my final thoughts on these new smart displays.

CNET’s Queenie Wong contributed to this report.