Meta might stop making Facebook Portal video-calling devices for consumers

Meta appears to be scaling back various hardware ambitions, with reports claiming it will no longer launch a dual-camera smartwatch and it's ending its Portal line for consumers. 

The company, once known as Facebook, plans to stop making consumer versions of its Portal video-calling hardware, The Information reported. Instead, it will aim the product line at businesses for conference calling. The Portal line first debuted in 2018 as two video-calling devices - one even had a camera that could follow you around the room.

These of course heavily served up Meta apps - such as Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp - for you to call or message friends, family, and colleagues. The line has since expanded into different shapes and uses cases but has continued to offer limited functionality and essentially locks users to the Meta ecosystem.

Meta currently sells a few different Portal products, including a $99 TV-connected camera and a $349 smart display. The Portal Go is one of the newer and more portable smart video calling devices in Facebook's Portal range, and although we said it'd make an excellent addition to a home in our review, the device never really seemed to take off. 

To see how the different Portals compare, see Pocket-lint's guide here.

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