TL;DR
- Facebook will no longer make Portal devices for consumers.
- The company will continue selling existing Portals till inventory lasts and provide long-term software support to existing users.
Facebook’s Alexa-powered Portal devices are dying a timely death. That’s because they aren’t as popular with consumers as Amazon and Google’s offerings.
The company confirmed to Variety that it is killing off the consumer versions of Portal and will only focus on its business applications. That said, the current models will continue to sell till stocks last, and Facebook will provide “long-term” software support for existing customers.
A source told the publication that Portal gained traction with business users during the pandemic. According to IDC (via The Information), Facebook sold 600,000 Portal devices in 2020 and 800,000 in 2021, primarily to businesses. However, the devices failed to make a dent in the smart display market, which is largely dominated by the likes of Google and Amazon.
Also read: The best smart displays you can buy
There are multiple versions of Portal on the market right now. These include the Portal TV, the 10-inch Portal smart display, Portal Go with a built-in battery, and the top-of-the-line 14-inch Portal Plus.
Apart from Portal, Facebook has also reportedly halted its smartwatch efforts and shelved plans to launch the first version of its AR Glasses codenamed Project Nazare. The latter was slated to launch in 2024, but the company has apparently pushed that back by several years to offset its money-losing Reality Labs division.
