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| The portal allows you to view Facebook snapshots hands-free |
The Facebook portal receives many updates, one of which allows you to browse the stories of your friends on social media hands-free. For more information, see an article on the company's blog.
You can access this feature by saying "Hey Portal, Show me the story". In addition to Stories, you can now make your Facebook Assistant display your latest Facebook posts, replies, and photos.
Previously, the social network had no native support as it was only accessible via a web browser.
However, the portal can still take a picture of you during the call. However, you cannot take pictures of your friends or family members from the other side of the screen. The company reportedly said in 2018 that the reason was privacy related.
But you can now take screenshots with Portal by saying "Hey Portal, take a picture" during a Messenger call.
You can then share the photo via Messenger like any other photo or video.
The company has also added support for augmented reality effects on both sides of messaging calls, regardless of which device you or the caller are using.
In other words, if the caller is using a phone or tablet instead of the gate, they can now see the augmented reality effect you're playing.
Portal has also launched three new games including Quizbee, Sequencer, and Port-a-Pet, all of which can be accessed through the Photo Booth app.
Facebook drops the price of portal hardware
Quizbee is basically a quiz game, while Sequencer tests your ability to memorize the random sequence of numbers. Port-a-Pet allows you to interact with virtual pets using verbal commands.
Meta has kept its promise to integrate Microsoft Teams with the portal, and cross-device video conferencing will be available from December 8th.
ESPN and ESPN Plus will also be available in the US later this month through Portal, Portal Plus, and Portal Go. Previously, ESPN was only available through Portal TV.
In addition to these new features, Meta has also lowered the price of Gateway hardware. The Portal Go is $149, the Portal TV is $79, and the Portal Plus is $299.