Facebook debuts two new Portals: Portable Go, redesigned Portal Plus

Speaker 1: Facebook is jumping back into the smart home with two new portal devices. And I'm excited, curious, let's go with keeping an open mind. Let's take a look at what we know so far. Speaker 1: The first device could be kind of cool. It's called the portal go. It's the same basic routine. As the older portals, voice controls, touch controls, et cetera, with a focus on video calls and a [00:00:30] camera that follows the action. Only this one has a battery 200 bucks, 12 megapixel camera, 10 inch screen. The second one is an update of the portal plus, which is their high end model. It has a tilting screen this time and that's kind of it for new hardware tricks. Otherwise the same 12 megapixel camera that follows you while you chat. This one has a 14 inch screen and a whopping $350 price. [00:01:00] Yeah, pre-order for both start now and they'll be shipping in mid-October. Now let's take a closer look at each device. The first one, the portal go makes sense to me, we're not huge fans of the portal line here at the smart home. Speaker 1: They're generally less useful than smart displays from Amazon or Google nest. They used to have a super unique trick where the cam would follow you as you moved around. But now the show 10 and the show eight can do that for Amazon [00:01:30] and the nest hub. Max can do that for Google. That said portal gained a chunk of popularity during the pandemic because of its focus on video calls. Yes, you can make video calls on Amazon and Google nest, but portal puts it more front and center on its list of features. So people bought in so they could stay connected to folks. So if you're already drawn to the portal line, a portal option that you can bring from room to room, makes sense. Keep in mind. There's no cellular connection [00:02:00] here. So you're not gonna be able to bring this thing to the park for room to room convenience. Speaker 1: You still have, you know, a cell phone, but still at least the portal go adds something new to the equation. The new portal, plus doesn't make any sense to me for one thing. It's 350 bucks. That's crazy. The most expensive options for Google and Amazon are two 30 and two 50 respectively. You do get a bigger screen with the portal plus 14 inches versus 10, [00:02:30] but wait, I'm guessing they're going to sunset the old portal. Plus that one was $280 and had a 15.6 inch screen that rotated. This one gives you less and costs more. Well, you might say maybe it has a better camera. Nope. The old one had a 12.5 megapixel camera. This one 12. Now those minor differences in specs probably won't make a big difference in your experience. But the point of [00:03:00] a second gen version, usually isn't to downgrade the specs while jacking up the price. Speaker 1: What is going on? Maybe I gotta see this thing in action or hear it. Maybe the sound quality is way better. I saw the tilting screen feature listed and thought maybe that was like the echo 10 with a motorized screen that automatically follows you. Nope. It just tilts when you move it like any computer monitor, please, please. [00:03:30] Don't pre-order this device. People buy portals for their parents or elderly relatives to help them keep in touch. You have better than this. Check out the echo show 10 or the nest hub max, but we will of course review it when it comes out to see if it surprises. Facebook is also rolling out a few new features for portal. Along with these devices, they're adding Microsoft teams. They already have zoom, WhatsApp, Facebook messenger, obviously, and a few others, lots of [00:04:00] choices for video calling. They're adding multi device support for WhatsApp, a new calendar app that supports Google and outlook. Speaker 1: There's also a new household mode. Facebook assumes you're putting this in a public space so you can set up certain apps and contacts so anybody can access. They're expanding the watch together experience. So now people who don't have portals can join in as you watch your favorite movies or TV shows and Facebook for business will let employers set up accounts and devices [00:04:30] for employees. So honestly, some cool new features as before you'll be able to play music and control your smart home since it has access to Amazon's a you'll have to use Facebook's separate voice assistant for video calls, which is strange, but what I all that said, I'm skeptical. Even the portal go will win me over the portal line just has so much ground to make up, to catch up to the competition that said, maybe I'll be surprised. And the mobility will really seem useful [00:05:00] for the 300 hundred $50 portal plus to win me over with a smaller screen and a worse cam. I mean, I suppose stranger things have probably happened and anything's possible a million dollars could fall out of the stealing and onto my lap right now. It was worth the try. What do you think am I I'm being too harsh on the portal? Let me know in the comments below and thanks for watching. Please hit that thumbs up button. If you found the video helpful [00:05:30] and subscribe to C's YouTube channel for more.