 Sup guys check this out. I've got the new Facebook portal. I'm gonna go ahead and just unbox this real quick here Shoot no, what hold on can I just call you back in a sec? There we go, that's better alright So this is the new second generation Facebook portal and the new portal minion basically they're smart video Calling machines so it's kind of like a phone But not that kind of phone like that kind but with a video camera And then also some tablet features thrown in but here's the thing Was anybody actually asking for this and if they were did they really want Facebook to be the one giving it to them? Facebook doesn't exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to protecting user data, so What could they possibly do to convince consumers to willingly put a Facebook built video camera and microphone array into their homes? So like the first-gen portal devices the 2019 portals each include both software and hardware toggle switches for disconnecting the camera, microphone or both Then for added peace of mind the separate loseable lens cap has been replaced by an integrated shutter that physically obstructs the camera A much more elegant solution the chassis looks more like a picture frame this time Which is nice either in white or black making it feel more at home in a home And I guess that's an extra bonus for Facebook's engineers too because this design gives them a license to print Fat gigantic bezels which both devices definitely have the difference between the two models comes down solely to screen size The mini is 8 inches while the regular is 10 inches both with a screen resolution of 1200 by 800 That's not full HD, but when paired with the 13 megapixel camera that's built in It's definitely enough to deliver a video stream that's clear enough to make out that sweet shirt your friend is wearing That is as long as you have a good enough network connection It's also enough for the portal to act as a digital picture frame many of which are similarly low res Off-axis viewing of the portal devices does lose quite a bit of brightness But to their credit there's very little color shift regardless of whether you're using your portal in landscape Or portrait mode which is facilitated by the somewhat odd looking yet functional stand which happens to house the power cable For audio the portal has a four microphone array with one mic on the front two on the top and one on the back And of course a red LED to indicate when their hardware disabled The mics do a really good job of delivering clear sound even when you walk away from the camera without requiring you to raise your voice Or turn around to face them hidden within the chassis outer frame are two full-range drivers Accompanied by a two-inch subwoofer on the back which altogether offer audio that we would describe as at least on par With other mini smart speakers in terms of both loudness and clarity You can play tunes through the native Spotify Pandora and iHeart radio apps Or you can play whatever you want on your phone if you pair it via Bluetooth As for IO there is a USB type-c port concealed on the back of the full-size model anyway This one actually has the little flap glued down, but it's not a huge loss because it only enables beta features such as connecting to ethernet And external displays and even then only through a short list of approved adapters I tried plugging a headphone dongle in there, but unfortunately no dice so we're limited to Bluetooth headphones at least for now So then that's the what Let's move on to why we could have possibly thought it appropriate to title this video the way we did personally I don't use video calling a ton because I like to multitask while I'm talking to people and when I'm on video they can Tell that I'm looking at something else and doing something else so the way that I use it tends to be very utilitarian You know to like stick under my sink to get some pointers from a plumber friend or Point at the shelf to make sure that I'm getting the right taco mix at the grocery store So I'm assuming you guys are probably a lot like me so when I said to buy this thing I honestly didn't mean for yourself to find out who the portal is for you really have to look no further than Facebook's own marketing materials which feature parents and grandparents pretty much exclusively and It really is kind of perfect for them parents are so busy that being able to be on a call while they're doing something else with their hands like cooking or wrangling children helps a lot and And portal is simple enough that I'm pretty sure that even my grandma who does not have a smartphone Could figure out how to use it the feature set is heavily aimed at families to from the AR filters Which are not even close to as good as snapchats to the shared experiences games to the story time feature Portal offers a way to make video calls to a faraway loved one interesting enough to keep the attention of even the smallest users which Brings us perfectly then back to privacy because who cares if there's a camera cover I mean what about all the data that you are creating just by using the portal exactly the way that it's intended well Facebook says that all video calls whether they're through messenger or whatsapp are Encrypted and that the company doesn't listen to view or keep your video calls nor use them for advertising purposes Even the camera and the microphone AI tech that keeps you in the frame and clear sounding as you move around the room Actually runs locally on the device not on a remote server run by Facebook And then finally the cameras facial recognition doesn't identify you Specifically it just recognizes that your face is a face Unlike the Google nest hub which uses face data to create separate user profiles on that subject by the way We're reviewing Google's new 2019 stuff so get subscribed so you don't miss that So all of that sounds pretty a-ok But it doesn't mean that portal doesn't collect any user data it does for example Facebook tracks how often you make calls and how long those calls last and Since you can say hey portal to initiate and end calls Facebook also keeps recordings of your voice commands Which you can delete from their servers, but like their competitors This is a manual process that you'll have to remember to go back and do from time to time which I find pretty frustrating The important thing though is that Facebook might actually be learning from the terrible couple of years that they've had and they seem To be making an effort to be transparent about all of this For example the warning that your voice recordings may be reviewed by humans appears prominently during the device setup process and Isn't buried in a wall of legalese designed to dissuade you from reading it so for real then Should you buy a Facebook portal? Well assuming that you are a Facebook or WhatsApp user and you actually make video calls to other users on those platforms And you see a value to making those video calls from a place where you can't realistically move around Well Facebook has actually done a lot to make the portal a good value Not only is it pretty good at following you around so that you can communicate more naturally it also has Amazon Aliexa built in so it can do anything that an echo dot can do and And it's a digital picture frame and all of that for the wow This is even more heavily subsidized than last year price of a hundred and thirty dollars for the 8 inch and a hundred and eighty for the 10 inch it's by no means a perfect device it can be pretty slow the camera doesn't adjust properly to group call split-screen Situations and while it does have a basic internet browser for pulling up recipes or whatever it still has hardly any third-party app support But overall I think the portal is genuinely pretty good at doing what it sets out to do and it would be a great Christmas gift for the right person just don't buy one for me because I would find it about as useful as a jibo which Guys if you haven't already seen that video it's worth a check out even though jibo is dead Maybe it's even funnier now that jibo is dead so thanks for watching guys Hope you enjoyed the video if you want to buy a portal we'll have that linked below with our affiliate link And if you don't well, I'll understand that too