Facebook announces a major update for Portal devices that adds new content and features

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by Pradeep Viswav 

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In September, Facebook announced a new family of Portal video calling devices. The 10-inch Portal and 8-inch Portal Mini come with a new picture frame design and they can adjust brightness and color of the displays based on your surroundings. They also have a built-in speaker. The Portal TV is an accessory for your existing TV that will allow you to enjoy video calling and other AR features. Facebook today announced a major update for Portal devices that bring several new features and improvements. Read about them below.

  • WhatsApp Login: Facebook account is no longer needed to make video calls. You can now login to Portal with your WhatsApp account to make video calls and access features like Story Time.
  • New Stories: Story Time feature brings children’s stories to life with AR effects. Facebook today added new classic stories to Story Time: Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks and the Three Bears, plus new tales from Llama Llama, Pete the Cat and Otto.
  • Workplace on Portal: With Workplace on Portal, you can connect with your co-workers through your Facebook Workplace accounts.
  • Portal TV: New Mic Drop feature lets you sing along with popular song clips and perform them on an AR stage during a call. You can also share a GIF snapshot of your performance with your friends. New Photo Booth feature allows you to snap selfies and take videos, add effects and then share with people on Messenger from your TV. Facebook is also adding Amazon Prime Video in the US, UK, Canada and France. Portal TV users can now also stream audio content from Deezer, plus music from Crave in Canada and video from France Télévisions in France.
  • Portal Mini, Portal and Portal+ Updates:
  • You can now livestream from Portal directly to your Facebook profile via Facebook Live. Facebook is also bringing Watch Together to Portal Mini, Portal and Portal+, so you can view Facebook Watch shows in sync with a friend.

Portal Mini costs $129 USD, Portal costs $179 USD and Portal TV costs $149 USD. You can get $50 off if you bundle any two Portal devices.

Source: Facebook

Pradeep Viswav

Pradeep Viswav Shield

Software and Services Expert

Pradeep is a Computer Science and Engineering Graduate. He was also a Microsoft Student Partner. He is currently working in a leading IT company.

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