Facebook’s Portal prepped for 2nd act
Facebook just can’t take a hint. After its first-ever hardware device got slammed by critics as spyware last year, Facebook on Wednesday unveiled a new generation of its Portal video-chatting product.
The home speaker/video screen and camera is a privacy nut’s nightmare. It is equipped with long-range microphones, as well as a smart camera that follows users around the room when they are on video calls.
The original Portal was unveiled just months after the Cambridge Analytica scandal emerged, revealing Facebook leaked the private information of 90 million users. It was blasted by critics as a creepy and tone-deaf move, and Facebook delayed the release for months. In the end, it added a small plastic cover for users to block the camera lens.
The three new Portal products — the Portal, Portal Mini and Portal TV — also have the plastic cover, which users can put over the camera lens by moving a switch on the side.
For better or worse, Facebook says the camera has been improved and “intelligently pans and zooms to stay with the action so you can move and talk freely while always being in frame.”
The Portal’s camera even knows when other people enter the room, widening its view to capture everyone in the shot.
The launch comes as Facebook says it’s trying to pivot toward more private forms of communication after getting hits by years of slowing user growth, data-sharing scandals and calls for change to its handsoff content moderation.
Standard models of the Portal, which ship on Oct. 15, will come in $129 and $179 versions. Portal TV will cost $149 and hit the shelves on Nov. 5.