Back in last year, the social networking giant Facebook unveiled Portal which is a video calling device that allows users to perform video chat just like a Smart Display allows. Well, now Facebook has unveiled three new models of the Facebook Portal and it is coming to more part of the world, which means the company has now extended availability. The new devices are called the Portal, Portal Mini, and Portal TV.
Talking about the devices, the latest the Portal and Portal Mini features a new design and it looks like a photo frame, it will show photos, videos, and birthday reminders. The Portal has a vertical design something like the device which was unveiled in last year, and the Portal Mini comes with the landscape designing setup.
The Portal features a 10-inch display while the Portal Mini sports an 8-inch display. The devices coming with automatic brightness and colour to match the ambient light. Furthermore, both models feature a built-in speaker. Now coming to Portal TV, it is not like the other two products. As it will not allow you to call directly from the device as it requires a companion which means you need to set up the product with your television and then it will make a video call for you through the camera which is built in the device and use the screen of your television.
Furthermore, now the Portal allows users to call via WhatsApp which means now the devices will support Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp to make video calls with your near and dear ones. The company has also added a new feature Along with Facebook Messenger, Portal now also supports making video calls using WhatsApp. A feature called Story Time for children and three new, award-winning children’s books (Llama Llama, Pete the Cat, Otto) are now available on the board. You can also watch Facebook Watch content, including shows like Red Table Talk through the Portal TV.
The devices also loaded with Amazon Prime Video app and you can download other apps such as SHOWTIME, CBS All Access, Starz, Pluto TV, Redbull TV, and Neverthink. To offer music, it allows users to download Spotify, Pandora, and iHeartRadio. It can be activated with the hotword “Hey Portal”, and that works in US/Canada English. All Portal devices also have Alexa built-in, which means you will get a full range of Alexa skills.
You can also disable the cameras and microphones, and the company also says that both the cameras and microphones work locally and not on Facebook servers. Moreover, video and voice calls are also claimed to be the end to end encrypted. Which means Facebook offers a maximum layer of privacy on all the devices.
Speaking about the pricing and availability, the new models are priced at $179 for the Portal, while $129 for the Portal Mini, and $149 for the Portal TV. You will get a $50 discount if you buy any two models together. It will available in UK, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, US, and Canada.
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