Facebook is moving deeper into the smart home space by refreshing its Portal products, and introducing a new device that can hook up to your TV.

The social network is marketing Portal TV as a camera peripheral that can enable video phone calls via Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp on your television screen. But it's also a streaming device with access to Amazon Prime Video, CBS All Access, and Showtime, in addition to Facebook Watch, the company's YouTube-like service. Other unnamed partnerships are slated to follow. It arrives Nov. 5 for $149.

Of course, existing smart TVs and streaming TV sticks already let you watch the top video-streaming services. But the Portal TV's camera and video-calling functions adds an online chat component.

For now, this "Watch Together" feature will only be available on Facebook Watch when a call is made on Messenger. But it works like this: You and other friends with Portal TV devices can talk online, and then pick a video to view together. As you watch the video on TV, you'll be able to hear your friends and see their reactions in a small box in the corner of the screen.

"We're basically in the same living room, watching the same show together," Head of Portal Ryan Cairns told journalists during a Tuesday demo of the product. "Watch Together is starting at Facebook Watch, but we're going to be getting more content over time."

Portal TV has some potential to shake up TV viewing habits, but it was born out of Portal customer requests for video-calling functions on the biggest screen in people's homes. The device itself hooks up to your TV via an HDMI cord. Activate it using the voice command "Hey Portal," or use the included remote to look up contacts and initiate the video call.

When a call takes place, the 12.5MP camera on the Portal TV device will record a wide view of your living room; the same camera can then track your face as you move through the room, zoom out to include more people into the shot, and record voices from afar, thanks to eight microphones built into the device. (If you're really far away, you can make voice commands via the microphone embedded in the remote.)

Like the company's other models, Portal TV supports augmented-reality effects. Although Facebook has its own voice assistant to handle incoming commands, you can also tap Amazon's Alexa to make other queries or control smart appliances, such as a Ring Video Doorbell. The Portal TV itself has a built-in speaker, but it can re-route sound to the television's main audio systems.

Making Portal More Affordable

The other two products Facebook announced today include the $129 Portal Mini and a second-generation Portal smart display, which will retail for $179. Pre-order both today; they start shipping on Oct. 15.

With the new Portal models, Facebook created a more compact product that looks like a traditional picture frame. That's a welcome change from the first-gen Portal, which was designed like a typical smart display.

The Portal Mini has an 8-inch screen while the standard Portal has 10-inch display; their 1,280-by-800-pixel resolution screens can be viewed in portrait or landscape mode. In addition to video calling, you can access apps to play music, listen and watch the news, and plan your day.

In standby mode, the Portal devices can display personal photos from Facebook and Instagam. Facebook will also roll out WhatsApp-enabled video calls on all Portal devices.

The two new models are also more affordable than the first-gen Portal, which originally retailed for $199. "We always want our products to be in as many hands as possible," said Andrew Bosworth, Facebook's head of augmented reality and VR.

Addressing Privacy

Whether the Portal products appeal to you will probably depend on how you view Facebook. Over the last two years, the company has been in the headlines for failing to protect its users' personal information from third parties. So the thought of having a Facebook product in your home, especially one with a camera, may turn you off.

That's why the Portal and Portal Mini include a privacy switch that'll cover up the camera and cut off the microphone's hardware to prevent unauthorized recording. The Portal TV, on the other hand, includes a button on the side to turn off the microphone, along with a shutter to cover the lens. A red light on the devices will indicate to the user that the microphone and camera have been shut down.

"We're not listening in on your calls. We're not recording your calls. We're not storing your calls," Cairns said. The company's systems will only be able to register who you call via your Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp accounts in order to facilitate the communications.

That said, Portal devices can record and store your voice commands such as "Hey Portal." Facebook will create transcripts of these commands, which can be reviewed by human teams, to improve the voice-recognition algorithms. Existing Portal users can already delete their voice interactions from the company's databases. However, Facebook is now adding another option to let you opt out entirely from any voice command collection.

"If you turn storage off, voice recordings and transcriptions aren't stored or reviewed. And of course, you can access that any time on Portal settings on the device or through [your] Facebook activity log," Bosworth said.

The company also noted that there's no facial-recognition technology projected through the Portal devices. No ads will be served via the devices either.

To entice buyers, Facebook is offering a $50 discount to those who buy two Portal devices. Get them on the company's website and via retailers such as an Amazon and Best Buy. The new products will be available in the US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand.

Further Reading