Back in 2018, the social media giant Facebook announced they were expanding
into the world of smart devices with the launch of the Portal range of smart
displays and videophones, which provide video chat via Facebook Messenger
and WhatsApp. This functionality is augmented with a camera bolstered by AI
automatic zooming and tracking, with integration with Amazon’s voice-controlled
intelligent assistant Alexa. In September 2021, Facebook launched their next
generation of Portal devices, including the new Portal Plus. Now, the device also
supports Facebook’s own smart voice assistant, albeit with more limited
capabilities than Alexa. At the steep price of £349, the smart display is certainly
on the expensive end compared with other alternatives on the market. So, how
does Facebook’s answer to smart phone technology stack up?
This new generation of Portal Plus differs in look to the prior versions. It has a
slightly smaller 14-inch display mounted on a re...
