With Portal, Facebook may be eyeing to stop users from using other chat and video calling apps on other speakers. It may also be looking for a new and completely controlled environment to sell ads — which is its main way of making money. The social networking giant expects to woo the users with the presence of its widely used service and Portal’s touchscreen. Additionally, Portal’s camera uses artificial intelligence to recognize body shapes. This can be a huge selling point for the device considering that users will be able to stay in the frame without having to adjust the device. Speaking on the launch, Rafa Camargo, Facebook’s vice president who is monitoring Portal said, “Our goal is to make you feel present in the same space as the person at the other end.” Portal’s microphones and camera shuts off with a tap of a button and users can lock it using a passcode, the company has said. It further clarified that voice and video calls that will be made on the device will be encrypted and their contents will not be stored. Users can call anybody they wish to, provided both are using FB Messenger. While the base variant of Portal comes with a 10-inch display, the high-end version sports a 15.6-inch screen. Both will showcase photos and notifications from Facebook and videos from Food Network. Other than this, there are very few other apps present on it. Prior to this, Facebook had forayed into hardware with Oculus virtual reality headset and a phone that it developed with HTC.
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