Rumor: Facebook to announce smart speaker Portal next week

Facebook would like to present its smart speaker with touchscreen Portal next week. The presentation was scheduled to take place earlier, but the company postponed the presentation following the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal earlier this year.

To address privacy concerns, Facebook has created a slider that allows users to cover the wide-angle camera lens in the Portal, Cheddar reports. That slide was not there in the first place. The camera uses Facebook facial recognition software and can track users as they move around the room.

Furthermore, Facebook Portal wants to provide Alexa, Amazon’s digital assistant. The web store itself has a similar product with the Echo Show and it is unknown how Facebook wants to distinguish its product from that of Amazon. The device may offer the option for video chatting via Facebook Messenger.

The Portal has been rumored since the beginning of this year. It would be Facebook’s first consumer hardware outside of the Rift headset from its subsidiary Oculus. In addition to Amazon, Google is also said to be working on a smart speaker with a touchscreen. Such speakers without touch screen are available from Apple and various audio brands, and Samsung announced one for release later this year.

Rough mockup of Facebook Portal. Source: Pocketnow