Facebook announces Portal Go portable, Portal for Business

Facebook on Tuesday unveiled the third generation of its Portal video calling devices and a new service that will allow companies to deploy fleets of devices for their employees.

It shows that Facebook is still bullish on video call screens and expects people to want to continue video chatting. The company first unveiled its Portal devices in 2018 and did not reveal any sales figures. But as businesses continue to delay returning to the office, Facebook is capitalizing on the need to connect with colleagues and loved ones via video calls. It competes with Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Home Hub products.

The Portal Go, a $ 199 device with a 10-inch display that can be removed from its charging pad for home use, highlights the new models. Portal Go has a carrying handle and enough battery to last up to five hours of one-on-one calls via Messenger or 14 hours of listening with its screen off.

Facebook has also announced a new version of its Portal +, which will cost $ 349 and feature a large 14-inch screen that can tilt forward and back. The new Portal + was designed to sit next to users’ computers on their desks for video calls. Facebook said it had better sound quality than the first version.

They cost more than the older models. The current 10-inch Portal sells for $ 179 and the previous version of Portal + was priced at $ 279. However, there will likely be revised promotional prices for these devices later this year, Facebook’s head of product management for Portal, Micah Collins said.

The third-generation portals are available for pre-order starting Tuesday and will start shipping to customers on October 19.

Additionally, Facebook announced Portal for Business, a service for small and medium businesses that will allow businesses to remotely purchase, deploy and manage Portal devices for their employees. Facebook has seen fit this type of service as more companies move to remote and hybrid setups, Collins told CNBC. Portal for Business will launch in beta this year in the United States and will be more widely available next year, Collins said.

“The portal is extremely useful given the amount of video connection we have to maintain in a working day, and this trend is not going to go away,” he said.

In another effort to meet the needs of professionals, Facebook will add the work of Microsoft teams to Portal in December. This will allow the portal owner to use their devices to access their calendars, contacts, file sharing, and chat functionality. Portal already supports other business applications such as Zoom, BlueJeans, and Webex.