If Amazon’s Echo or Google’s Home devices weren’t enough for your hi-tech needs around the house, social media giant Facebook hopes it can fill whatever void’s left. According to Cheddar, Facebook is apparently gearing up to enter the home device market in a big way with “Portal,” the company’s video chat box.
The report states that Portal will be similar to the Amazon Echo Show, though it won’t be marketed as a smart assistant, but rather something that will let families and friends stay connected via social features and video chat.
More info about the device states that it will work via voice command like Amazon’s Echo, but it will house wide-angle lens that’s capable of recognizing individual faces, and even linking your face to your Facebook account.
Portal will allegedly be unveiled at Facebook’s annual developer conference this May, with the device set for release at retail in the second half of 2018 for $499. However, that price isn’t set in stone just yet, and it’s said that Facebook is willing to give the device at a lower cost to spur user and consumer adoption rates.
Expect Portal to be sold by Facebook via pop-up stores and online.
Thoughts on this? Do we need more devices that can interact with us? And will Valve, the publisher of the critically acclaimed Portal games be OK with the naming term?
