Facebook to unveil ‘Portal’ video chat devices soon

The technology giant that is Facebook is planning to release new versions of its ‘Portal’ video chat devices during the autumn season, apparently.

According to its Vice President of AR/VR, Andrew Bosworth, there is a lot more that is going to be unveiled with new form factors as well.

He did not say how many devices had been sold since Portal’s launch late last year in the United States, or what the new devices were.

Reuters says that the launch is occurring amid concerns over Facebook’s privacy and content moderation practices that have led some people to abandon the service and the company to warn of thinning profits.

It is said that the release of new video chat devices fits into Facebook’s focus toward private messaging by encryption of conversations on more of its messaging services.

Facebook is one of the biggest global players in private messaging with its WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, each used by more than 1 billion people.

Only WhatsApp fully secures message content from all outsiders, including Facebook itself.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said in March that within a few years, direct messaging would dwarf discussion on the traditional, open platform of Facebook’s news feed, where public posts can go viral across the world.

Bosworth said in the interview on Monday the devices did not have the ability to record things and were only for calls.

“There was a lot of conversation around us launching Portal. But it’s about what Facebook is at its core. It’s entirely about private conversation,” Bosworth said.

Source: Reuters