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WhatsApp Messenger review: Text for free, with some useful extras
WhatsApp Messenger review: Text for free, with some useful extras
Editors' note, February 19, 2014:This review has been updated with information from Facebook's announcement that it acquired WhatsApp.
WhatsApp Messenger (iPhone|Android) lets you chat for free with anyone else who owns the app and offers a few extra useful features to make text messaging more fun. With this chat app installed on your smartphone, you'll save a little money on text charges through your carrier and across platforms. The only catch is that you'll have to persuade your most frequent texting buddies to download the app, too, but once they see WhatsApp's advantages, they'll probably give it a try.
WhatsApp Messenger was recently acquired by Facebook, and while that doesn't mean a big change to the app in the near future, it makes me wonder how Facebook plans to use it. Whatsapp is already incredibly popular around the world, so any news about changes to the app will be watched closely. Should we expect WhatsApp to continue in its current form alongside Facebook's own separate messaging app or will Facebook's offering suddenly have the same features, as Whatsapp rides off into the sunset? It's hard to know at this time, but check back here for more information and an updated review when any new Facebook chat app becomes available.
Natural navigation
Like iMessage for iOS, WhatsApp Messenger shows your chats in little text bubbles, gives you a time stamp for messages, notifies you when a text has been viewed by your recipient, and lets you include photos, audio notes, and videos within your conversations. But with WhatsApp Messenger you can also change your background and send your GPS location to an interactive map. You can use premade away notes such as "I'm busy" or "Available" or even "My battery is about to die," and you can block specific contacts from within the app. You also can easily send a friend's contact information to another user without leaving the app. So, while the app is not leaps and bounds ahead of other messaging apps, there are some nice extra features here.
Great for conversations among multiple users
One thing WhatsApp does exceptionally well is group messages. You can use the Broadcast Message feature to bring up your entire list of contacts, then click radio buttons to quickly add contacts for a message blast. There's also a New Group feature, which lets you add contacts for a group message much as you would in iMessage or another chat app. But you can also look back over the group messages and list just the locations or just the media added to the group chat by all members. These are not amazing or groundbreaking features, but they are a bit more than what you can get with the standard messaging features on most phones.
So the real advantage of WhatsApp Messenger is the money you save when communicating with Android (if you use iMessage) or while communicating internationally. In other words, with WhatsApp Messenger, and a little cooperation from your most-texted friends and family, you could easily get the lowest-cost texting plan with your carrier and save some money every month on your smartphone bill. It shouldn't be that hard of a sell either, since your friends will save money on their phone bills as well.
A note about pricing
WhatsApp Messenger is free to download for iOS and Android users. In the past, the app cost 99 cents, but the developers moved to a newer pricing model in the middle of 2013. Now, the app is free initially, but after a year of use, you'll need to pay a 99-cent subscription fee for another year. This is the first time I've seen such a pricing scheme, but it's hard to argue with only $1 per year for a solid messaging app that works cross-platform.
Overall, WhatsApp Messenger is not much different from the text-messaging services you get on your smartphone, offering a few neat extras that make it a little more fun and useful. At this point in time, it's hard to say what will happen now that Facebook is taking control. Until we find out, if you do a lot of texting, this app is still a must-have, giving you unlimited free texts with all your friends, whether iOS- or Android-using, without having to worry about extra charges, even internationally.
Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram coming back online after widespread outage
Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram coming back online after widespread outage
Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram are starting to come back online after a widespread outage lasted more than six hours on Monday, disrupting communications for the company's roughly 3 billion users.
"To the huge community of people and businesses around the world who depend on us: we're sorry. We've been working hard to restore access to our apps and services and are happy to report they are coming back online now. Thank you for bearing with us," Facebook said in a tweet.
The three social networks -- all owned by Facebook -- started having issues around 11:40 a.m. ET, according to Down Detector, a crowdsourced website that tracks online outages.
The company acknowledged that it was having issues shortly after noon ET, saying in a tweet from its WhatsApp account that it's "working to get things back to normal and will send an update here as soon as possible." Similar messages were shared on the Twitter accounts for Facebook and Facebook Messenger.
Hours later, Facebook CTO Mike Schroepfer said in a tweet that the company was "experiencing networking issues" and working as fast as possible "debug and restore" its services.
Facebook later said in a company blog that it believed a "faulty configuration" change was the cause of the outage
The outage -- and the resulting reaction on Twitter -- underscores both our dependency on the social networks and the love-hate relationship they inspire. Being unable to post on Facebook or Instagram elicited equal parts frustration and relief, with some relishing the break from being constantly connected to our digital lives. Ironically, it's those very social media platforms that allow us to express our collectively mixed feelings about the situation.
Outages are nothing new in the online world, and services often go offline or experience slowdowns. Facebook's outage on Monday, however, was unusual in that it struck a suite of the company's products, including its central site and WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging service used widely around the world. Facebook is deeply enmeshed in global infrastructure and the outage disrupted communications for the company's billions of users. The website and its services are used for everything from casual chatting to business transactions.
It isn't immediately clear what caused the issue for the three properties. Security expert Brian Krebs said it appears to be a DNS related-issue, adding that something "caused the company to revoke key digital records that tell computers and other Internet-enabled devices how to find these destinations online."
Cloudflare, a content delivery network that hosts customers data for fast access around the world, had its own explanation of what might have happened.
"Facebook and its sites had effectively disconnected themselves from the Internet," Cloudflare concluded. "It was as if someone had 'pulled the cables' from their data centers all at once and disconnected them from the internet.
Facebook's problem involved a combination of two fundamental internet technologies, BGP and DNS, both instrumental to helping computing devices to connect across the network. The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) helps establish the best way to send data hopping from one device to another until it reaches its final destination. The Domain Name System (DNS) translates human comprehensible network names like facebook.com into the numeric Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that actually are used to address and route data across the internet.
Just before 9 a.m. PT, Cloudflare detected a flurry of unusual updates from Facebook describing changes to how BGP should handle Facebook's part of the network. Specifically, the updates cut off network routes to Facebook's DNS servers. With those servers offline, typing "facebook.com" in a browser or using the app to try to reach Facebook failed.
In addition to Facebook's services and apps being down, some of the company's internal tools were also reportedly impacted by the outage. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said in a tweet that it felt like a "snow day."
The Facebook outage appears to have caused a headache for Twitter, as well, with more people heading there after finding Facebook down.
"Sometimes more people than usual use Twitter," Twitter tweeted Monday afternoon. "We prepare for these moments, but today things didn't go exactly as planned."
The outage cost Facebook an estimated $60 million in forgone revenue as of 1 p.m. PT/4 p.m. ET, according to Fortune and Snopes. The two publications calculated the lost revenue by using the roughly $29 billion the company reported in its second-quarter earnings. Facebook makes roughly $319.6 million per day in revenue, $13.3 million per hour, $220,000 per minute, and $3,700 per second. The outlets then used those numbers to calculate revenue loss based on how long the outage has lasted.
Shares in the social network dropped nearly 5% to $326.23 per share amid a broad selloff in social media stocks. (Shares of Twitter and Snap were both off more than 5%.)
The slide in Facebook stock weighed on CEO Mark Zuckerberg's net worth, which dropped to $121.6 billion. His net worth is now less than Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and is the fifth wealthiest person in the world, according to Bloomberg.
The outage creates another headache for Facebook, which is battling a massive public relations nightmare in the wake of a whistleblower's allegations that the social network is aware of harm that content on its services causes. The allegations were detailed in a series of stories published by The Wall Street Journal based on research leaked by the whistleblower that said the company ignored research about how Instagram can harm teen girls and that an algorithm change made users angrier.
The whistleblower, a former Facebook product engineer named Frances Haugen, is scheduled to testify to Congress on Tuesday. She detailed some of her allegations in a televised interview on Sunday.
"Facebook, over and over again, chose to optimize for its own interests, like making more money," she told 60 Minutes' Scott Pelley.
As is often the case with outages, users flocked to other social networks to complain and also revel in the Facebook outage. Instagram and Facebook quickly became the top trending topic on Twitter in the US, and dominated other locations around the world as well. Twitter even got in on the joke, with the company's official account tweeting, "Hello literally everyone," and CEO Jack Dorsey asking "how much?" in response to tweets suggesting Facebook's domain was for sale.
This isn't the first time Facebook has suffered from a lengthy outage. In 2019, Facebook's services suffered from a daylong outage that the company blamed on a "server configuration issue." In previous outages, the social network has also cited a DNS issue or a central software problem as causes.,
Read more: Funniest memes and jokes about Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram outage
CNET has contacted Facebook for additional comment and we'll update when we hear back.
CNET's Carrie Mihalcik and Stephen Shankland contributed to this report.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp launches new WhatsApp Business app
Facebook-owned WhatsApp launches new WhatsApp Business app
WhatsApp is king of the messenger apps, with over a billion daily users. Now, the Facebook-owned company looks to better expand its reach to businesses.
WhatsApp Business is a free Android app released Thursday in the US, UK, Mexico, Italy and Indonesia, with more countries coming soon. WhatsApp did not state when or if an iOS version would be available.
The app is for businesses to download -- the customer side will be integrated into the existing WhatsApp app. Business has a suite of features that makes it easier for small businesses to communicate with customers, including the ability to get verified business profiles, set up frequently asked questions, a quick reply feature and more. It'll also have desktop support.
WhatsApp Business could be a big boon in developing nations, where more informal platforms, like WhatsApp, are used by small businesses to advertise, liaise and sell to customers. WhatsApp, pointing to a study done by Morning Consult, said over 80 percent of small businesses in India and Brazil use the app to help them grow their businesses.
WhatsApp is the second biggest messanging app in the world -- second only to Facebook Messenger, which had 1.2 billion users as of late April.
WhatsApp has been contacted for information on when an iOS app will be released.
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Can Facebook be broken up? What you need to know
Can Facebook be broken up? What you need to know
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wields so much power that even one of the social network's co-founders thinks it's both "unprecedented" and "un-American."
Chris Hughes, who co-founded Facebook with Zuckerberg while they were students at Harvard, called for the social network to be broken up in an op-ed published Thursday by The New York Times. "I'm angry that his focus on growth led him to sacrifice security and civility for clicks," Hughes wrote, referring to Facebook's boss and major shareholder. "I'm disappointed in myself and the early Facebook team for not thinking more about how the News Feed algorithm could change our culture, influence elections and empower nationalist leaders."
Facebook's rapid growth has been fueled by acquisitions, including Instagram and WhatsApp, a messaging service. Critics and experts say Facebook simply purchased its competition, rather than innovating to meet the challenges they posed.
"Their whole business model is to identify potential threats and then buy them or beat them in some way," said Stephen Diamond, an associate professor of law at Santa Clara University School of Law.
And Facebook has been called out for not doing enough to combat election meddling, misinformation and hate speech. Its enormous power, critics argue, needs to be kept in check. Facebook doesn't want to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp.
Here's what you need to know:
Who wants Facebook broken up? Why?
Calls to break up Facebook aren't new. But it is startling to hear one of the company's co-founders call for such an extreme measure. Hughes argues that Zuckerberg holds so much power that even the company's board of directors can't keep him accountable. Zuckerberg controls around 60 percent of Facebook's voting shares, which means the board technically can't fire him even if he messes up.
Hughes isn't alone. Advocacy groups, including the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Color of Change and Common Sense Media, have previously asked the Federal Trade Commission, the agency that enforces antitrust law, to make Instagram and WhatsApp separate companies. A split would also make it easier for other social media companies to compete with Facebook, the organizations argue.
In addition, a group called Freedom from Facebook has called on the FTC to force Facebook to spin off its Messenger service too.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts who's also a presidential candidate, is among the lawmakers who want to break up Facebook, as well as other tech giants, including Google and Amazon.
How would Facebook be broken up?
One way to break up Facebook would be for the federal government to file a lawsuit against the company, arguing it stifles competition. That could prompt a negotiation between the parties that could lead to Facebook agreeing to make itself smaller.
Another alternative would be for Congress to pass a law covering tech monopolies. Warren has proposed such a law, which would require tech platforms that take in $25 billion or more in sales to "structurally separate" their products. Amazon, for example, would have to spin off its house brand Amazon Basics. Warren said that if she won the presidential election her administration would also appoint regulators to unwind the mergers of Instagram and WhatsApp from Facebook.
What does Facebook think about the idea?
Facebook has pushed back, arguing that breaking up the company wouldn't hold the social network more accountable for its actions. Instead, Facebook has called for more internet regulation around harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability.
"Accountability of tech companies can only be achieved through the painstaking introduction of new rules for the internet," Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs and communications, said in a statement Thursday. The social network also said that having Instagram and WhatsApp under Facebook helps them fight spam, election meddling and crime. Facebook says it has plenty of competition, pointing to YouTube, Snapchat, iMessage and WeChat, among others.
Clegg touched on all those points in a Saturday editorial in The New York Times.
Have tech companies been broken up in the past?
Yes, but it's unusual. In 1974, the US Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against AT&T but the matter wasn't settled until eight years later. The telephone company was required to spin off two-thirds of its assets into separate companies, according to a 1982 article from The Washington Post. The government has also tried to break up Microsoft and in 2000 a US federal judge ordered that the tech giant split into two companies. Microsoft appealed and the decision was reversed.
What would this mean for users of Facebook?
Facebook is trying to integrate its messaging services so users of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp can send messages to one another without switching apps. Splitting up the companies might prevent that from happening.
Those who want the government to break Facebook up argue the move would fuel more competition among social media companies, which could mean more options for consumers. About 2.7 billion people use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp or Messenger every month.
Diamond said that breaking up Facebook could also lead to the company stepping up its privacy efforts to match its social media competitors.
What are the chances this happens?
The FTC declined to comment on whether it's looking to break up Facebook. But if history is any indication, it would be a rare move.
"I doubt there is sufficient political momentum to break up Facebook," Diamond said. "I'm skeptical, even though I think there might be good reasons to do it."
Originally published May 10, 5:40 a.m. PT. Update, May 11: Adds mention of Facebook VP Nick Clegg's Saturday editorial in the Times.
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Facebook Portal Go: A battery-powered smart display that doesn't make sense
Facebook Portal Go: A battery-powered smart display that doesn't make sense
Facebook, despite its ongoing privacy troubles and Congressional inquiries, is pressing forward with hardware. The second generation of its Portal Plus smart display and the new, battery-powered Portal Go are now available. When I heard the pitch from Facebook representatives for a battery-powered smart display with a camera shutter and a handle, I was optimistic. At least, I thought, Facebook was doing something new -- a portable smart display.
Molly Price/CNET
After a week of testing, it's hard for me to recommend the Portal Go. Limited apps and unintuitive quirks combined with Facebook's overarching privacy issues are enough for me to steer everyone in another direction. If the $200 Portal Go had wowed me in any facet of my evaluation, I would give it its due praise. It just didn't. It's expensive and unnecessary. Still, there are interesting points and features. If you're going to skip out on the latest tech, you should know why. Let's dive into the details.
The obvious question
Like most folks, I wondered "Why not just buy a tablet?" After all, Portal has Alexa built-in but is far from focused on the smart home like the Nest Hub or an Echo Show. It's billed mostly as a chatting/meeting device. I asked Facebook directly and here's its spokesperson's response in full:
The first major difference is that Portal is focused on connecting people and it's built for the home, so we've made design choices that optimize for that. Portal also has a Smart Camera with an ultrawide field of view which is a differentiator for video calling – group calls feel more natural and calls tend to last longer. And with Facebook Assistant and Alexa Built-in, Portal enables hands-free functionality which is increasingly expected in places like the kitchen where your hands are often busy with other tasks.
We spoke a lot about Portal+ as a great work companion device, but Portal Go is also great as a second screen for work – you can free up your laptop so that you can connect with colleagues and be more productive by taking notes or reviewing other materials. And the audio on Portal is better – it's tuned for video calling and a great speaker when you are not on calls.
And, Portal is meant to be used as a communal device that is available for everyone in the home. Tablets are really designed as personal devices and aren't typically used in ways where household members can depend on them being available. Household mode is an example of how we are building on this – a computer for the house that can be shared, and anyone can use to make a call and deliver a more personalized experience through our support for multiple users.
There's a fair argument here for Portals being a better shared device than a tablet. Most parents I know don't want their kid handling their personal tablet, but that's also why so many kid-friendly models are out there. Big rubber cases and kid-friendly apps with parental control options deliver everything a family wants and needs in a portable interface.
The Portal Go includes settings to allow multiple users with customized experiences, so kids won't accidentally Zoom your boss. Not all smart displays include kid profiles in that manner, but many tablets do. Samsung's line of Galaxy Tabs has a Samsung Kids mode. iPads don't deliver as much here, but there is a "guided access" mode that locks out the touchscreen so you can plop on that one episode of Paw Patrol and go about your business.
The Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids Edition is made just for kids.
Amazon
Spec-wise, both the Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 and the Amazon Fire HD 10 have a better screen resolution than the Portal (2,000x1,200 and 1,920x1,200 pixels respectively). The ability to download Amazon and Google smart home apps makes them decent tools for operating a smart home. Camera specs vary across tablets and displays, but the Portal Go isn't better than most of them when it comes to megapixels or field of view.
Design
Here's where Facebook gets a few points. I like the idea of a portable smart display. They're trying something new. It's not a tablet and it doesn't look like one. A built-in handle on the back of the Portal Go makes it easy to pick up. It's lightweight enough at three pounds. The thick base tapers up to the top for a sturdy, but still streamlined look.
The back of the Portal Go features a built-in handle.
Molly Price/CNET
Fabric covers the body of the display that houses two 5-watt, full-range speakers and one 20-watt woofer. The Portal Go puts out plenty of sounds for casual music and video streaming. I liked the intuitive, physical volume buttons on the top of the device.
It might not beat out a tablet option, especially if you buy a folio cover and prop your tablet up for viewing. It doesn't rotate like the Show 10, or even tilt like its larger sibling, the Portal Plus. Still, it's nice to look at and I enjoyed toting it around the house while I did chores and caught up on my favorite YouTube channels, via the Browser bookmark. It freed up my phone, tablet and my laptop.
Features
This is the limiting factor here for me. The Portal Go just doesn't do as much as any other tablet or smart display on the market. There are so few apps (24) that I have room to list them here. Imagine if I tried to do that with a tablet, Amazon Echo skills or Google Nest compatible apps and devices. We'd need a bigger internet. Here's the entire list, in alphabetical order:
Alexa
BlueJeans
Browser
Calendar
CBS News
Deezer
Facebook Live
Food Network
GoToMeeting
iHeartRadio
Newsy
Pandora
Photo Booth
Plex
Red Bull TV
SideChef
Spotify
Story Time
Tidal Music
Watch
Webex Meetings
Workplace
Workplace Live
Zoom
What's really odd here is what's missing. There's no native Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp app you can click on to open the platform. Features from those apps are built into various parts of the Portal experience. You can link your Instagram account to display your feed photos on the Portal Go's ambient screen. Messenger chat rooms can be created in the Portal Contacts app. You can use WhatsApp to set up the Portal instead of Facebook (but it will disable the "Hey, Portal" voice integration).
Facebook representatives told me that's because, "The core use for Portal is video calling and to make it easier for people to connect with their family, friends and colleagues. You can use the web browser on Portal to access your favorite Facebook apps. People have other devices they typically use for browsing Facebook, Instagram, etc."
That makes sense, I suppose. I'm not likely to scroll instagram on a display that isn't small and handheld or hunt and peck on a vertical touchscreen to reply to WhatsApp messages. Just be warned if you think this device is a one-stop shop for all your social apps -- it isn't.
Facebook could choose to add more apps with future updates. Other smart display makers have certainly done so in the past. It's possible that this list will expand. However, as it stands today, these are all your options for apps on the Portal Go.
Video chatting
You can video chat through Zoom, Webex, BlueJeans, GoToMeeting and Workplace. Facebook told me that Microsoft Teams support is in the works for later this year. Video calling your contacts happens through the Contacts app, where you'll create a Messenger room to chat. You can add up to seven people to your room, for a total of eight including yourself. The contacts available here are pulled from the WhatsApp or Facebook account you used to set up the Portal. The friends and family you call don't need to have a Portal device.
The Portal Go's AR camera and add-ins like Story Time are the big selling points here. Tapping the Experiences button in your video calls can add fun filters and special effects. There you'll find the safe effects and filters from the Photo Booth app, as well as access to Story Time, Photo Casting and the Watch Together feature for streaming Facebook Watch content.
A scene from the Dr. Seuss book There's a Wocket in my Pocket.
Molly Price/CNET
Open Story Time during a call and you'll find dozens of fun stories with filters and special effects that interact with the story teller on camera. Content includes Dr. Seuss, Pete the Cat, Llama Llama, Todd Parr and Jon Burgerman. There are also classic stories like Three Little Pigs, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Little Red Riding Hood. It really is fun and interactive and I wish it were available on better devices.
Alexa on Portal
Alexa is built into the Portal Go. You can access it via voice or from the Alexa app. In the app, a familiar Alexa dashboard displays your devices and has menu options for music, devices and more. Some Easter egg features like Alexa's recent Halloween routine with special effects and sounds didn't work on the Portal Go or Plus. The correct screen appeared, but the audio glitched and skipped most of the content. That's a small thing, but something you wouldn't encounter on an Amazon display.
Like previous models, the Portal Go has both "Hey, Portal" and Alexa capability. It certainly doesn't simplify anything and it sometimes leaves you wondering, "Wait, which assistant am I supposed to ask for this?"
The Alexa dashboard on the Portal Go shows options for using the assistant.
Molly Price/CNET
"Hey, Portal" commands control things like calling, playing music, putting the device to sleep and even some general knowledge. That means there's overlap between "Hey, Portal" (you can also say "Hey, Facebook") and Alexa, who is primarily present to answer general questions, set reminder, control smart home devices and all the normal Alexa things you'd expect.
The last thing a smart device should do is prompt more thinking or decision making when you're trying to use it. The split personality here doesn't feel intuitive enough to be useful.
Privacy
Adjacent to any Facebook hardware is the ongoing saga of Facebook's data and privacy failings. You can dig deeper into the Portal privacy features here, but these are the big takeaways:
Portal devices are listening for the "Hey, Portal" wake word. If it hears that phrase, Portal sends a short transcript and recording of the voice interaction to Facebook. Stored "Hey, Portal" and "Hey, Facebook" voice interactions are kept on Facebook's servers for up to three years, while "false wakes" are deleted within 90 days of detection.
You can review and delete voice interactions recorded and transcribed from the "Hey, Portal" prompt. You can also choose to disable voice interaction recording all together, though it is on by default. If you only connect your Portal to WhatsApp and not Facebook, "Hey, Portal" won't work at all, due to WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption.
You can disable the camera and microphone by tapping the mute button on the top of the device or sliding the camera's physical cover. A red light indicates those features are disabled. The Portal Go's camera uses AI technology that is processed locally, not on Facebook servers. The Portal Go's camera does not use facial recognition.
A physical shutter, red light and on-screen notification let you know the camera and microphones are off.
Molly Price/CNET
The better options
There are two ways you could approach Portal alternatives. If you're looking for streaming, lots of apps, including social media but liked the portability of the Portal Go, get a tablet. Nearly any model from Samsung, Amazon or Apple will give you more capability, processing power and options for streaming and social media platforms. Throw in an Apple Pencil, S Pen or generic stylus and you've got even more flexibility.
If you're hoping for an Alexa-focused smart home device, the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 10 are both fantastic (and often more affordable) options with broader apps for streaming and video chatting.
The following charts compare popular tablets and smart displays with the Portal Plus and Portal Go.
Portals vs. tablets
Portal Go
Portal Plus
Galaxy Tab A7
Amazon Fire HD 10
iPad (2021)
Price
$200
$350
$650
$150
from $329
Screen size
10.1 inches
14 inches
11 inches
10.1 inches
10.2 inches
Resolution
1,200x800
2,160x1,440
2,560x1,600
1,920x1,200
2,160x1,620
Camera
12 megapixels
12 megapixels
8 megapixels front, 13 and 5 megapixels rear
2 megapixels front, 5 megapixels rear
12 megapixels front, 8 megapixels rear
Physical shutter
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Field of view
125 degrees
131 degrees
80 degrees
Not listed
122 degrees
Portable
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Kid mode
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Limited (Guided Access)
Video apps
Zoom, Webex, BlueJeans, GoToMeeting, Workplace
Zoom, Webex, BlueJeans, GoToMeeting, Workplace
All available from the Google Play Store
All available from the Amazon app store
All available from the App Store
Music apps
Deezer, Pandora, Spotify, Tidal, iHeartRadio
Deezer, Pandora, Spotify, Tidal, iHeartRadio
All available from the Google Play Store
All available from the Amazon Appstore
All available from the App Store
Streaming apps
Facebook Watch, Red Bull TV, Food Network, Facebook Live, CBS News, Plex
Facebook Watch, Red Bull TV, Food Network, Facebook Live, CBS News, Plex
All available from the Google Play Store
All available from the Amazon Appstore
All available from the App Store
Smart home compatibility
Alexa
Alexa
Alexa app, Google Assistant app
Alexa
Siri, Alexa app, Google Assistant app
Internet browser
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Portals vs. smart displays
Portal Go
Portal Plus
Nest Hub Max
Echo Show 8
Echo Show 10
Price
$200
$350
$229
$100
$250
Screen size
10.1 inches
14 inches
10 inches
8 inches
10.1 inches
Resolution
1,280x800
2,160x1,440
1,280x800
1,280x800
1,280x800
Camera
12 megapixels
12 megapixels
6.5 megapixels
13 megapixels
13 megapixels
Physical shutter
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Field of view
125 degrees
131 degrees
127 degrees
110 degrees
110 degrees
Portable
Yes
No
No
No
No
Kid mode
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
Yes
Video apps
Zoom, Webex, BlueJeans, GoToMeeting, Workplace
Zoom, Webex, BlueJeans, GoToMeeting, Workplace
Zoom, Google Duo
Zoom, Skype, Chime
Zoom, Skype, Chime
Music apps
Deezer, Pandora, Spotify, Tidal, iHeartRadio
Deezer, Pandora, Spotify, Tidal, iHeartRadio
Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Deezer
Apple music, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Audible, SiriusXM, Headspace, NPR and more
Apple music, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Audible, SiriusXM, Headspace, NPR and more
Streaming apps
Facebook Watch, Red Bull TV, Food Network, Facebook Live, CBS News, Plex
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WhatsApp update boosts video calling to allow 8 people at once
WhatsApp update boosts video calling to allow 8 people at once
Want to video or voice chat with more people over WhatsApp? Now you can.
In a new update released Monday, the popular messaging app is bumping up the number of people who can be on a video or voice call at once to eight, double its previous limit of four, the company said in an update note on the iPhone App Store.
As it was before, the calls are end-to-end encrypted with Facebook writing in a blog post that "no one else can view or listen to your private conversation, not even WhatsApp."
The Android version of the app does not yet appear to be updated in the Google Play store but, as MSPowerUser notes, an updated version with support for eight callers can be downloaded directly from WhatsApp's website.
The new update is rolling out worldwide starting today, and WhatsApp says that it should arrive on the Play store this week.
To have a call with more people, everyone on the call needs to be on the latest version of the app on either platform.
The Facebook-owned messaging app is the latest to bump up its calling capabilities as people look to stay connected while stuck at home. Last week Facebook introduced a new Messenger Rooms feature that allows up to 50 people to video chat at once with no time limit for how long the chat lasts.
Read more: 10 free Zoom alternatives for video chat
