Facebook wants to put a camera in every house

Facebook is releasing its own smart speaker with a screen and a camera and the Portal, and the larger Portal +, is built specifically for video calls.

It’s essentially a smart speaker with a touchscreen that includes a couple unique features. Among them is a user detection system that will cinematically zoom in on a person’s face or follow them as they move around a room. The idea behind the device is to make video chats more like actually hanging out together.

Many consumers are already comfortable with the idea of a listening, watching device in their home. And Portals aren’t too different from existing Amazon and Google products.

Portal contains some other Facebook-y touches. The device must be logged into a Facebook Messenger account to make the video calls, which may be confusing for a device shared with multiple people. It can connect with anyone else on Messenger on a phone or tablet, and make group calls to up to six people.