Facebook’s smart speaker on hold after privacy scandal

Plans to launch the Portal at the company’s annual developer conference have been shelved, according to Bloomberg. Facebook will instead manage its current situation and aim to announce new hardware later in the year. The company doesn’t want to face further scrutiny over how much it knows about users because the Portal, which would be used in personal spaces, is said to have both a camera and microphone.

A few months ago, the Portal was said to ship with a design similar to Amazon’s Echo Show. It’s believed to have a display as well as speakers for users to see and hear each other. Facebook has also reportedly partnered with several services like Spotify and Netflix for third-party apps.

The company still intends to release the Portal, though. It just won’t happen at the annual developer conference. And, when the Portal does get announced, there’s a good chance it’ll be joined by other products. Facebook is expected to make a big play in home automation in 2018 and beyond.

Article source: https://www.technobuffalo.com/2018/03/28/facebook-smart-speaker-delayed-privacy-data-scandal/