Facebook’s Portal line of smart displays/video chat devices are getting support for new apps and features… and they’re going to new places.
Less than a year after Facebook launched the 10 inch Portal and 15 inch Portal+ devices in the United States, the company says they’re heading to Canada in June and they’ll be available in Europe this fall.
At launch, Portal was basically a platform for making video calls over Facebook Messenger, watching videos, listening to music, and a few other things.
This year Portal is is gaining support for:
- End-to-end encryption
- Private video messages
- Facebook Live (letting you stream video to a group of friends in real-time)
- Amazon Prime Video support
- Alexa flash briefings
- Instant Games (including multiplayer AR games)
- Ability to display Instagram images as well as Facebook pictures to SuperFrame
- A new mobile app will let you add photos to SuperFrame from your camera roll
Incidentally, while Portal still has a list price of $199 and Portal+ is priced at $349, both Amazon and Best Buy are currently selling them for $100 off their list prices.
That means you can pick up the larger model for $250 or the smaller version for just $99).