Facebook Portal + de 14 “, analysis and opinion

There are many, many models and ranges of smart speakers, but something that is becoming fashionable is adding a screen to be able to consult more information or expand the one provided by the assistant itself.

There are some very simple ones, like Xiaomi’s watch with Google Assistant, but also others much more complex like the Echo Show 10 -analysis- or the Nest Hub 2 -analysis- that really take advantage of the screen to offer a much more complete experience.

Now comes Facebook -Meta- with its new generation of Portal with integrated Alexa and then let’s go with the analysis of the Facebook Portal +.

Sections of the Facebook Portal + analysis:

Careful design to the millimeter and without looking at all like a smart speaker

Let’s start with the design because here we have to recognize Facebook for a very good job to guarantee an impeccable user experience.

All this starts from a very ‘Apple’ or Microsoft unboxing with Xbox Series X -analysis-. From the unboxing it is already clear to us that we are facing a premium product in price, but as soon as we place it on the table, that feeling of a TOP product is maintained.

What is most striking is the huge 14 “screen. We will talk more about it in a heartbeat, but what we have to say is that it has very reduced frames, although the chin is wider, and the camera that I did not like at beginning, now I even understand it.

It is as if I have a webcam on the monitor And at first it is shocking that such a well-built product has that glob there, but then the truth is that it is understood because the lens is wide angle and needs its space, it has a button, two microphones and a physical cover.

And boy, that way you are also, at all times, marking the user the point to watch in a video call. I dont think is bad.

The screen is glued to the speaker with a hinge that allows a certain degree of tilt, but it does not allow to rotate the panel. The camera tries to do the trick with a very interesting software system, but I definitely stick with the concept of the Echo Show 10 and its rotating base.

The speaker has a gray microfiber, like the one on Google’s Nest, and has a correct design. It is not that it will be seen because the screen overshadows it, but we will be able to place it near a wall without problem thanks to a flat back.

And, on the back, it has the proprietary power port, whose connector is completely inserted, and a USB-C that we can use, basically, to charge a device, although the power is not high.

It is a design that, as I say, I like and looks pretty premium to me, but it would have introduced a couple of buttons to control the volume and, above all, a system that allows you to rotate the screen automatically or manually.

14 “with spectacular resolution

But let’s go to the screen because it is, possibly, the best that mounts a smart speaker. This is a 14 “panel and Meta does not specify its type, but I would say that, from its viewing angles, it is an IPS.

It is not the best IPS panel on the market, but the truth is that it fully complies with what the system has to offer.

In addition to the quality of the panel itself in terms of color reproduction, we have a resolution that is the true highlight of the whole.

And it is that, it is better than 14 “panels of many laptops that we have recently analyzed both in brightness, with an average of 1,148 lux with a deviation of 26 lux, spectacular in this sense as for the resolution.

It’s 2,560 x 1,440 pixels and you say “wow, how stupid”, but in practice it is a resolution that does provide sharpness and makes the screen look great, but it is not a differentiator on a day-to-day basis due to the type of interaction that we are going to have with this screen.

But it is a very good resolution, that is not debatable and the screen shows that it is of quality. For example, I have also loved the sensitivity of the panel and how well it responds to the gestures and touches we make.

Sound capable of filling a room, but one step away from the TOP range

Refined design, TOP display, but … how does this work in its role as a smart speaker?

We go with the issue of sound, both reproduction and capture, since it is very important in this type of device.

We have a four-microphone array that are used for calls and yes, we are going to use it for Alexa. If you don’t trust much of a single assistant, here we have Amazon and Facebook in the equation.

But hey, there are four mics, as I say, and the truth is that our voices ‘catch’ us quite well, even if there is noise in the room or we are playing music at a considerable volume.

In calls, the experience, according to what those who are on the other side of the communication tell us, is good.

And on the speaker, the truth, good words. For the price you already expect such an expensive smart speaker to respond well, but considering that the screen should not have been cheap, I had my doubts.

In the end, what I have found is a set that is most solid.

We have two 5W speakers and one 20W woofer and the truth is that the sound has punch. In any type of music genre it performs up to the task, but in alternative or more electronic music where there is a powerful base, the woofer shines.

I have tried to turn the volume up to full on occasion, but only once because the maximum volume is considerable and would annoy neighbors, but with the level at 40% or so, the experience for an average salon is adequate.

Very happy in this regard and I am actively using it as a loudspeaker these weeks. So far, so good.

12 megapixels that follow you and auto frame

Although with exceptions, smart speakers that have a screen usually also incorporate a camera. This is used to make video calls between devices and, depending on the family, compatible apps.

In this case we have a camera that It helps us to make video calls from WhatsApp, but also from applications like Zoom, creative photos that we save on the device or for the Facebook workspace.

It is a wide angle that It has a coverage of 131º and the image quality is … decent for a video call. It is like the webcam of a high-end laptop of the latest generation.

The grace is that, like the latest Apple devices or the latest Logitech camera, which is the one we use in our podcasts, it performs an automatic framing by software.

This means that, within a certain angle, the camera ‘follows’ us and takes a specific frame if we are one person or if we are several, which opens the shot.

This is very useful, especially if you move around the room while making a video call or if you are talking to someone and, suddenly, another person appears in your shot, since the camera automatically frames it.

And I really liked it, the problem is that the uses are limited. We do not have native Meet or Skype. I understand that Skype is not there because it is from Microsoft, okay, but since you offer Google services such as the native Calendar in the system, Why close the door on something as popular as Meet?

Yes, from the browser we will be able to access Meet and Skype, but there is a stone that I have not managed to get around. And, we have Chromium, so we will be able to go to the website settings and enable the use of the camera and the microphone.

But these services expressly ask you to indicate that you allow access to the camera and the microphone and, how this is done through a pop-up and the browser does not show pop-upsWell, you can’t access.

I hope that it will be solved with an update, since it seems Android, although quite controlled, because not being able to use, above all, Meet is something that I do not understand.

For the rest and with compatible apps? Video calls are very satisfying.

A portal to a small group of apps

The tone of this analysis of the Facebook Portal + is being very positive because, really, everything that has to do with the hardware is at the level, but alas, the software.

In the previous section I spoke of the experience with compatible apps as very good. And so it is. WhatsApp (although limited to calls and video calls), works great, as well as the browser itself, Zoom, the Facebook work suite, Calendar, Spotify and a few others that we can download.

The problem is that there are very few applications that we can download and, as you can see in the following video in which we show you the interface, there is no application store, so to speak.

Those that are are those that there are, as well as a few applications that, directly, open in the browser.

For many this will not be a problem, but I do not understand that you put a Chromium browser on me, an excellent screen and a very good speaker and we do not have, for example, a native YouTube app or a full browser.

We also don’t have the Facebook or Instagram app and I find it … curious, since they are still part of the Facebook ecosystem.

But hey, the system works, the navigation with gestures is fluid, it opens the applications quite quickly and the wallpapers are pretty.

What’s more, incorporates Alexa and you will be able to use the system as if it were an Echo speaker ordinary. And yes, we have Bluetooth, so we can use it as a normal Bluetooth speaker to play mobile content.

Consumption: moderate if not in use

Before we finish, let’s review the consumption a bit. Due to the fact of being on and showing something on the screen, the Portal + consumes about 5 W, more or less at 50% brightness and about 9 W at 100% brightness. It can oscillate and consume a little more or a little less, but it is what it ‘eats’ if we ask nothing of it.

If we call Alexa, the consumption goes to 7 W during the seconds in which it gives us information about something and if we play music with the volume at 50%, it consumes about 6 W.

It is not an exaggerated consumption and yes, it is clear that something is at the end of the year because it is still a ‘vampire’ device, but hey, it is what we assume when we have something of this style.

It goes without saying that we have measured consumption because we always do, but the values ​​are totally normal and this does not affect the note at all, it is strictly informative.

They have the hardware, but the developers are missing

We reached the end of the Facebook analysis, or Meta, Portal + and the feeling that remains is bittersweet.

On the one hand we have spectacular hardware which, by far, seems to me the best that has passed through our hands for a smart speaker with a screen.

It is elegant, well built with interesting materials, it fits in any space and the screen with such small frames seems a delight to me.

It’s sharp, has very good viewing angles, and the touch sensitivity is just right.. The sound accompanies and the camera and its software auto-tracking function I liked.

Now, applications are missing, but crazy. The ones that exist work very well, but the problem is that they are few, too few for a speaker that costs 369 euros and that, in the end, is ‘saved’ because it integrates Alexa.

I think Meta has to give this a twist because I consider that it is easy to solve it through updates, but today, it seems to me an expensive device not because of the hardware, but because of the software, which is still the heart of these devices.