Facebook is entering the household device market with a voice-activated smart-screen that will put a microphone and video camera into living rooms. The Portal gadget is likely to feature facial-recognition software to scan the room and log users into Facebook accounts. It will be geared to video chats.
Portal is expected to be announced at Facebook’s developer conference in California in May as the first of a suite of hardware products to take on Amazon and Google, sources told Cheddar, an American technology news network. Facebook is going ahead despite a Business Insider report that focus groups expressed overwhelming concern that it would use the device to spy on users. The social network has been criticised for harvesting users’ data.
Sources said that Facebook intends to market Portal as a way for families and friends to stay connected. It will be the first product from Building 8, Facebook’s hardware lab, which is working on projects including brain-scanning systems to allow users to contact one another without speaking or typing.
Portal will feature a 13in to 15in screen and is expected to cost £370, compared with its closest rival, Amazon’s Echo Show, which costs £200.