Rumor: Facebook will release two smart speakers with 15″ touchscreen in July juli

Facebook will introduce two smart speakers with a 15 “touch screen by July at the latest. The devices are said to be known under the code names Aloha and Fiona and are made by Pegatron, with screens from LG Display.

The information comes from DigiTimes, which was also the first to report last year about the arrival of smart Facebook speakers with touchscreen. According to the sources of the Taiwanese newspaper, the Aloha model is more advanced than the Fiona variant.

The Aloha version would be called Facebook Portal, work with voice commands and also have facial recognition. This will likely allow users to log into their Facebook account. Facebook is also said to have signed music licensing deals with Sony and Universal Music.

It is not yet clear which functionality the simpler Fiona variant will have. The name Facebook Portal also appeared in another rumor, from early January. Then it was said that Facebook wants to sell the “video chat device” from the end of this year. The sources of DigiTimes speak of an introduction at the latest in July.

Facebook is competing with Amazon and Google with its smart speakers with touchscreen. The Amazon Echo Show was the first device in this category. Google announced at CES early this year that Google Assistant devices with screens will come. Analyst firm Canalys expects the global market for such devices to double to more than 50 million units this year.

According to DigiTimes sources, Facebook is planning to establish its own ecosystem for consumer devices such as the smart speaker with display. The Facebook Portal would be the first phase of that. More such devices would come out in the following years.