Facebook might finally be ready to unveil its video chat device-Portal. As reported by Cheddar, the device is Facebook’s first foray into consumer tech outside of Oculus, and is similar to Amazon’s recently-updated Echo Show.Amazon Echo Show and Echo Spot devices add video to the audio experience via voice assistant Alexa. While Echo home devices are microphone-equipped speakers, the Amazon Echo Show and Spot also include a display.
The outlet’s source said the device will come in two screen sizes and could cost around $400 for the larger size, while the smaller version could be priced at $300. That’s compared to $229.99 for the Echo Show. The device will include a privacy shutter to cover its wide-angle video camera, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to recognize and follow people using it for video calls. It will let you play music, watch a video, view recipes and look at news briefs.
According to the report, Facebook originally planned to announce Portal at its annual F8 developer conference in May “But the company’s scandals, including the Cambridge Analytica data breach and the bombshell revelation that Russia used the platform to interfere with the 2016 elections, led executives to shelve the announcement at the last minute,” claimed a report.
This will be the first piece of hardware to make it out of Facebook’s hardware lab Building 8, which has touted projects like cameras, drones and brain-scanning technology.
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