In the past years, we have seen companies like Amazon and Google stepping into the world of smart speakers and displays. It seems Facebook, the social networking behemoth, does not want to lag behind either. Some reports indicate that Facebook may announce its range of smart displays in this week itself. While there have been not much specific details available about the devices, the smart displays will be competing with Amazon Echo and the Google Smart Display. Facebook had started working on this project pretty earlier but had to call it off after the Cambridge Analytica scandal got to the roof.
Although the design or the sole feature of the product is available, there have been some primary reports, hinting at the major capabilities. The Facebook device, which has been code-named as ‘Portal’, will serve as a video-calling service primarily. Using the Facebook account, users can engage in a video chat experience, right from their living room or bedroom. Of course, apart from this, the company would be making use of the various face recognition technologies to make the device smarter. Some reports also added that Portal would be integrated to Facebook’s Messenger service as well, although there has been no confirmation from the sources.
Coming to the pricing sector, reports indicate that the Facebook Smart Displays will have a price-tag of $300 or $400. Of course, it also means that the device will have two variants based on the screen-size. This trend was being followed by Amazon and Google when they launched their smart speaker-cum-display devices in the past. According to the report from Cheddar, Facebook has been keen about the privacy-friendliness of the device, especially in ensuring better features like webcam coverage. The same reports have touted about a possible Alexa integration but Facebook has not commented on the ‘speculation/rumor’ yet.
