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Meta Will Stop Making Portal For Consumers (theverge.com) 45

Posted by BeauHD from the failing-to-catch-on dept.
Meta plans to stop making consumer versions of its Portal video calling hardware and instead pivot the product line to focus on use cases for businesses, like conference calling. The Verge reports: The change in strategy, first reported by The Information and confirmed to The Verge by a source familiar with the matter, comes as Meta is reassessing its ambitious hardware plans against investor concerns about the billions of dollars it's spending on projects that have yet to pay off financially.

The Portal line debuted in 2018 with two displays meant as dedicated video calling stations. [...] New versions have been released in the time since, including the portable Portal Go, but the device never became a huge hit. The research firm IDC estimates that Meta shipped 800,000 Portals in 2021, accounting for less than 1 percent of the global smart speaker and display market, according to The Information. Meta currently sells four Portal products, from a $99 TV-connected camera to a $349 smart display.
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Meta Will Stop Making Portal For Consumers

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  • How did this fail?!? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Portal hardware? Never heard of it.

  • Here is a good plan for Facebook:

    1) Make product that does only one app.

    2) Call it a smart display.

    3) ???

    4) Nobody wants it. Only one app? WTF were they thinking?

    Oh whoops, I think #4 was supposed to be "Profit". I guess Facebook messed that up too.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mmell ( 832646 )

      So, you're smart enough to outrun the bear. Problem is, your PHB probably isn't. Just because you'll get away doesn't mean the bear won't eat.

    • 1) Make product that does only one app.

      Portal runs Facebook, Zoom, Cisco Webex and one or two others. It's actually a fantastic personal video phone with face tracking and clear, understandable audio.

      But it's one of those things that nobody knows about it and if you ever need customer support, well you can't because Facebook.

      • The problem is it was not also a smart TV box.

        I don't want to have to have BOTH a portal AND a fire TV or Chrome cast and have to switch HDMI inputs any time someone tries to make a call. It's incredibly annoying. These devices HAVE to be combined with smart TV boxes if anyone is going to use them.

        I wish Amazon added working Webcam support to Fire TV. What they have now is God awful.

        • Are you talking about the TV version of the portal? That particular model isn't very good. The camera isn't high enough definition for the distance from the screen and without the touch screen (since it's using your TV) it's missing many of the apps the other Portal versions have (like Zoom and Webex).

  • Why would they pay for more hardware that is a privacy nightmare when they can use Skype or Zoom or whatever they are already using on the hardware they already have.
    • Privacy nightmare? Have some news for you about Zoom and Skype... https://www.theguardian.com/te... [theguardian.com]

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mmell ( 832646 )

        Yes, but those aren't generally implemented in "always on" configurations. The most convenient conference room audio/video connectivity hardware on the market has to be "always on" so that it can be remotely controlled (by Managers with appropriate login passwords set to 1...2...3...4...5).

        Even I don't run Skype/Zoom/[insert conferencing software solution here] in an "always on" configuration. A lot of these hardware solutions (including, presumably, Meat's offering) are designed for "always on" operatio

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by mmell ( 832646 )
          Gotta backwalk one thing - I have a phone running Android, so I have a kind of de facto connectivity service always on in Google Duo. Fortunately, it's as popular as Google Circles!

  • Meta's obsession with hardware (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Huitzil ( 7782388 ) on Thursday June 09, 2022 @08:27PM (#62608364)
    I am baffled by Meta's obsession with becoming Apple. I guess every software company at one point dabbles into hardware, when they believe the existing solutions are not well suited for the applications they're envisioning - but Facebook is building hardware for applications that are already happening in simpler forms.
    Why in the world would you buy a Portal if you can just call your parents on your tablet?
    Why in the world would you buy Rayban's with speakers if you already have airpods and Raybans?
    Why in the world would you buy Oculus if ...
    • Flat out the Meta Raybans are awesome. I have them and love them. No need for little earbuds that you have to worry about losing and can answer a call without needing to put them in.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by SeaFox ( 739806 )

      I am baffled by Meta's obsession with becoming Apple.

      You're baffled why a company would want to become highly successful with a whole cottage industry of people who simply report on their every move and a customer base that sings the praises of every new product they release (regardless of actual merit or value)?

      Why in the world would you buy a Portal if you can just call your parents on your tablet?

      You wouldn't buy a Portal for yourself. You'd buy it for your parents who can't understand how to work a normal tablet and don't want to learn.

      • I am baffled by Meta's obsession with becoming Apple.

        You're baffled why a company would want to become highly successful with a whole cottage industry of people who simply report on their every move and a customer base that sings the praises of every new product they release (regardless of actual merit or value)?

        Many people are baffled. The company who becomes a standout by offering a cohesive experience, with software and nicely built hardware integrated. Who knew? Not to mention that "just works" thing, where you can be a relative tyro, or a seasoned Unix user. I use My Windows machine because it has one program that I need that isn't on MacOS. I use my Apple devices because they boot and run every time, and I control the update times, not Apple.

        Why in the world would you buy a Portal if you can just call your parents on your tablet?

        You wouldn't buy a Portal for yourself. You'd buy it for your parents who can't understand how to work a normal tablet and don't want to learn.

        That would have to be a top tier level of stupid parents. I have go

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

      I am baffled by Meta's obsession with becoming Apple. I guess every software company at one point dabbles into hardware, when they believe the existing solutions are not well suited for the applications they're envisioning - but Facebook is building hardware for applications that are already happening in simpler forms.
      Why in the world would you buy a Portal if you can just call your parents on your tablet?
      Why in the world would you buy Rayban's with speakers if you already have airpods and Raybans?
      Why in th

      • Yes! The motivation is clear, but Facebook fails to value the consumer proposition. ie. They are not putting themselves in our consumer shoes, they are looking at spreadsheets and analytics that tells them that 'more engagement hours in consumer devices is better for the bottom line'. So their response is - let's try to compete with all of the experiences that people are engaging with outside of the Facebook ecosystem - which is impossible to do.

        And I think you're right on pricing strategy... Amaz

    • I am baffled by Meta's obsession with becoming Apple.

      What makes you think Meta wants to become Apple? Maybe they want to become the next Microsoft, with a hardware division (XBox) that's not exactly losing money. Microsoft now makes more money selling to businesses. But in a jobless future, or in a future where nobody goes to the office anymore but just "gig" for their wages, Microsoft's lifeline may well be the Xbox.

      We might think otherwise, but Meta's forays into hardware and business-oriented products make good sense for a company that's struggling with th

  • I'm pivoting right now.

  • So instead of joking around, I read TFA . . . (Score:3)

    by mmell ( 832646 ) on Thursday June 09, 2022 @09:09PM (#62608426)

    I see where Meta is going with this . . . there is a lucrative market to be had in selling PHB's something that has been offered by most telcos and ISP's for decades now . . .

    Unfortunately, I was taking a drink of coffee when this thought crossed my mind. There's still coffee dripping out of both nostrils. It hurts.

  • 2000 is calling. (Score:3)

    by fermion ( 181285 ) on Thursday June 09, 2022 @09:14PM (#62608436) Homepage Journal
    Back at the turn of 21st century, one way to tell a struggling business was the B2C to B2B shift. Consultant, I guess, would tell these firms that reaching consumers directly was too expensive. Particularly web firms were told they could customize e siting product for other business, and either charge directly or take a cut of revenue or advertising. Many of these firms, so which dated back to sail up, failed

    Another thing that was going on was businesses were paying a great deal to install highly sophisticated audio and video in their conference rooms. These installations were largely never used because if if the firm paid for sufficient training on the overly complex systems, few cared to waste time learning to use it.

    Which is to say business may buy this. Meta might show a profit. But I canâ(TM)t imagine anyone using it

    • They were a nightmare - and for some reason, every team I worked on back then had at least one idiot trying to find a way to make every meeting a remote meeting so we could all enjoy the nearly incomprehensible sound in the big conference room while watching some backlit and silhouetted remote figure struggle with the same sound.

      Yeah, the good old days. Thank God we don't have to do that again.

  • Seriously (Score:4, Insightful)

    by jdawgnoonan ( 718294 ) on Thursday June 09, 2022 @09:33PM (#62608460)
    Is any self respecting company actually going to invest heavily in hardware made by Facebag, oops I mean Meta? From the consumer perspective, I can think of no company to which I am less likely to buy a product.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mmell ( 832646 )

      Think like a PHB. Go ahead, jam a pencil up your nose until you hear a loud *crunch*, and spin it 'til the flashing colored lights stop.

      There, now . . . that's better. Now, I've got something totally new to show you. You'll feel like all of your coworkers are together in the same room. You'll almost be able to reach out and touch them. How much for this modern miracle, you ask? Well, today my glassy-eyed drool machine, I can sell you last year's model for the paltry sum of . . .

  • I like the ease-of-use of their products - this would theoretically work well for my elderly relatives who struggle with their smartphones. But I would never recommend any Meta products to my family because I don't trust Meta to protect my privacy. In fact, the whole purpose of Facebook is to collect people's private information - ostensibly to help them socialize on their network. So sell me the hardware, with no cloud component. I will direct the input and output streams as I prefer, with no data leav

  • I have the TV Portal device. It actually works, and quite neat. But the platform is heavily locked down.

    I have WhatsApp on it, and about 50% of my contacts have WhatsApp. Those with Signal? No dice. Discord? Nope. Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Amazon's thing, or other competitors? Of course not.

    I used to have a Logitech branded device for Skype. It worked great, until all my contacts have migrated to other platforms. It is not too hard to see this device, too, slowly becoming obsolete as more people jump sh

  • That consumers can make zoom and Google video calls for free

    • That consumers can make zoom and Google video calls for free

      Having a lot of experience with Zoom, it's hard to imagine that anyone would have problems using it as well. Free? Check. Easy? Check. Disclaimer, I do pay for Zoom because I need the meeting time and features. Most do not.

      I've gotten some pretty dense people working very proficiently in Zoom. It's really difficult to think of a decent use case for an always on, data collecting device. I've not used Google's video app because it's well - Google.

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