Facebook promises new Portal devices this fall

Facebook’s Portal division will introduce multiple new devices this fall, Facebook VP of AR/VR Andrew Bosworth announced at the Code conference in Phoenix, Arizona, (as first reported by CNBC). A company spokesperson declined to provide VentureBeat with more details.

Portal and Portal+ devices for Facebook Messenger video calls and conversations with Amazon AI assistant Alexa debuted in October 2018 with 15- and 10-inch screens. Alongside the devices, Facebook created the Portal unit as part of its AR/VR division to make devices for the home.

Facebook’s screen-with-voice-assistant offering competes with similar devices, like Amazon’s Echo Show 5 and Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub and Hub Max.

Facebook will bring WhatsApp video calls to existing Portal video call devices later this year and begin sales in European countries this fall, the Portal team announced in April at the F8 developer conference.

Reports of a new Portal device that streams videos, makes video calls, and works with televisions emerged in October 2018. And Facebook employees in Seattle are reportedly developing a voice assistant, sources told CNBC this spring.