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WhatsApp adds Joinable calls, a way to hop on group calls after they started
WhatsApp adds Joinable calls, a way to hop on group calls after they started
WhatsApp is adding a new feature with the aim of making it easier for people to join group calls with family and friends. Joinable calls allow you to hop on a call that's already started, or leave and rejoin the call as long as it's still going.
The chat app is also adding an information screen to your calls so you can see who's already on the call and who still needs to join. If you want to hold off on joining a call with your friends and family, you can hit "ignore" and join the call later from WhatsApp's calls tab.
The feature will start rolling out Monday, WhatsApp said.
In June, WhatsApp said it'll add multidevice support, letting you link four devices to one account.
Read more: 12 of the best hidden WhatsApp features you need to know
Facebook Suspends Rules to Allow Some Calls for Violence Against Russian Invaders
Facebook Suspends Rules to Allow Some Calls for Violence Against Russian Invaders
What's happening
Facebook's parent company Meta said it's temporarily allowing some violent content against Russian invaders, making an unusual exemption to its rules against hate speech.
Why it matters
The move is already escalating tensions between Meta and Russia. Roskomnadzor, the country's telecommunications agency, said Friday it's restricting Instagram, a photo-and-video service owned by Meta. Russia's Investigative Committee is opening a criminal investigation against Meta.
What's next
Russia might take more actions against Meta as it moves forward with the criminal case against the social media giant. The company also owns messaging app WhatsApp though no restrictions against that service have been announced.
Facebook parent company Meta is setting aside its rules and allowing some violent speech against Russian invaders, saying it views these remarks as political speech.
"As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as 'death to the Russian invaders.' We still won't allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians," Meta spokesman Andy Stone said in a tweet Thursday.
The rare exemption to the company's rules against hate speech, which bars people from posting content targeting a group of people, including violent content, shows how the world's largest social network is moderating content about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The move, though, is already escalating tensions between Meta and the Russian government.
Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement Friday that it's opened a criminal case against Meta for allegedly violating the criminal code of the Russian Federation that bars public calls for extremist activities and assistance in terrorist activities.
"As part of the criminal case, the necessary investigative measures are being carried out to give a legal evaluation to actions of Andy Stone and other employees of the American corporation," the committee, which reports to Russia President Vladimir Putin, said in the statement.
Facebook has been facing a greater number of calls to crack down more heavily on propaganda and misinformation. Last week, Russia said it was blocking the social network after Facebook started to make content from Russian state-controlled media tougher to find on its platform and tapped third party fact-checkers to debunk false claims. On Friday, Russia's telecommunications regulator, Roskomnadzor, said in a statement that the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia demanded that the agency also restrict access to Meta-owned photo-and-video service Instagram. Roskomnadzor said the restrictions will take effect March 14 to allow users to transfer their photos and videos to other social networks and notify their followers and contacts.
Nick Clegg, who leads global affairs at Meta, said in a statement Friday that the company's policies are "focused on protecting people's rights to speech as an expression of self-defense in reaction to a military invasion of their country." He added that Meta is applying the exemption only in Ukraine and that it made the decision because of "extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances."
"We have no quarrel with the Russian people. There is no change at all in our policies on hate speech as far as the Russian people are concerned. We will not tolerate Russophobia or any kind of discrimination, harassment or violence towards Russians on our platform," Clegg said.
The Russian Embassy in the US also responded to Thursday's decision, saying Meta's actions were equivalent to a declaration of information war against Russia, according to a report by Russian state-operated news agency Novosti. In a post on Twitter, the embassy called on US authorities to "stop the extremist activities of Meta."
For years, Facebook has also grappled with criticism that its rules are enforced unevenly. The company created a semi-independent oversight board to weigh in on its toughest content moderation decisions.
Reuters, which first reported the policy change, said that in certain countries, including Russia, Ukraine and Poland, the social media giant is also allowing some posts that call for death to Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. The changes also apply to Instagram.
Citing internal emails, Reuters said that calls for death won't be allowed if they contain other targets or include "two indicators of credibility" such as the location or method of death. The posts must also be about the invasion of Ukraine. Calls for violence against Russian soldiers will also be allowed in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Also Thursday, Facebook and Twitter removed posts from Russia's embassy in the UK over false claims surrounding the bombing of a maternity hospital in the Ukraine city of Mariupol on Wednesday.
At least one child and two adults were killed at the hospital and another 17 were injured, Ukraine officials have said.
Meta didn't immediately answer questions about how long it expects the exemption will be in place or the number of posts that may be impacted.
Meta hasn't released data about how many Facebook and Instagram users are in Russia. App analytics firm Sensor Tower estimates that since 2014 Instagram has been installed 166 million times from Google Play and the Apple App Store in Russia. Facebook in Russia has an estimated 56.2 million installs. Sensor Tower says that based on that data, Russia is the fifth largest market for Instagram and the 20th largest market for Facebook.
Vivo X50 Pro review: A solid all-rounder for camera lovers
Vivo X50 Pro review: A solid all-rounder for camera lovers
The Vivo X50 Pro is a midrange phone on the higher end of that spectrum and has many of the trappings of an enticing flagship. Starting at approximately $670, you get a crystalline screen, 5G, a powerful battery, a speedy display and fast charging. But the phone also has a camera feature that undeniably distinguishes it from its rivals. The X50 Pro is the world's first mass-produced phone with a built-in gimbal camera system that allows you to capture smooth, fast-action video with the click of a button. Out of Vivo's trio of X50 handsets -- which the Chinese phone-maker is marketing as a professional photography flagship -- the X50 Pro is the only one to boast this futuristic feature. But Vivo did make a few compromises. For instance, it lacks stereo speakers (a big drawback for music lovers like myself) and it isn't water resistant, which many phones of this class are. It also has a midrange processor (Snapdragon 765G) instead of the most adva nced chipset available.
If you're not fussed about shooting action video, you're better off buying Vivo's base X50 or the OnePlus Nord. Both have comparable specs but don't charge a premium for advanced video gimbals and hardware. The X50 and Nord feature a quad-camera system led by a 48-megapixel shooter, the same chipset and a fast display, but are nearly $100 to $200 cheaper respectively. But if being splash-proof is important to you, consider the iPhone 11 ($500 at Best Buy).
Vivo doesn't currently have plans to officially release the phone in the US. But X50 phones have been released in parts of Asia and Europe, so they'll be reasonably easy to import. Pricing also varies based on country with prices trending higher in Western countries. In India, the base variant (with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage) starts at 49,990 rupees (approximately $670, £510 or AU$930), while in Eastern Europe it starts at the equivalent of $780.
Vivo's X50 Pro features a 6.5-inch AMOLED display.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
The X50 Pro's gimbal camera delivers
The X50 Pro has multiple rear cameras. The entire setup uses a gimbal-like system and a combination of optical image stabilization and electronic image stabilization to produce incredibly stable video. Vivo says its gimbal system reduces shakiness by up to three times compared to traditional stabilization technology, thanks to a "double ball structure" that allows it to rotate on three axes.
I captured a bunch of video in different lighting conditions to see how well the X50 Pro stacked up against another phone known for its video-camera prowess, the iPhone 11 Pro Max. In short, the X50 Pro performed very well. When I recorded video while walking in daylight and panning the cameras from side to side, I didn't see much of a difference between the two phones. Both captured stable footage without any obvious jerkiness.
The differences were noticeable, however, when running, especially in darker conditions. Although the X50 Pro's output was steady and seamless, there were several times when the camera went out of focus and blurred slightly.The iPhone 11 Pro Max's footage, on the other hand, always remained in focus but was extremely shaky. In the end, I preferred video from the X50 Pro because it was easier for me to watch stable video with occasional blurs rather than jerky footage. Apart from video, another use-case for the gimbal system is taking photos while zooming. I was able to more easily capture some great photos zoomed in because of the stability it provided.
Bottom line: The X50 Pro's gimbal-style camera is impressive and generally delivers what it promises. But it cannot replace a full-sized gimbal -- it is built into a phone after all. And while its technology is unique, its videos aren't earth-shatteringly better than, say, what you get on the pricier iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The X50 Pro's design is slender and classic
Though its design isn't wholly unique, the Vivo's X50 Pro is still a sleek phone with a classic aesthetic. I prefer designs like this because they're more enduring rather than envelope-pushing trends that seem to fade away (remember pop-up selfie cameras?). The X50 Pro has a spacious 6.56-inch curved display with a discreet hole-punch selfie camera. On the back there's a larger than average rectangular protrusion that's home to a rear quad-camera module and the phone's headline gimbal feature.
The X50 Pro comes in gray, which I love. Its subtle sheen adds to the phone's premium look. Overall the X50 Pro is neither heavy or exceptionally lightweight, but it is relatively slim, which allows me to type out emails and messages using one hand.
The X50 Pro's screen has a higher 90Hz refresh rate than most phones, which have 60Hz displays. It offers a silky smooth experience, which I really like, though it's not as high as the 120Hz screens on the OnePlus 8 Pro and Galaxy S20.
Vivo's rear camera setup is headlined by a 48-megapixel shooter.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
The X50 Pro's multiple cameras have range
In addition to the phone's main 48-megapixel sensor, there are two telephoto shooters and an 8-megapixel ultrawide-angle lens. These multiple cameras offer plenty of variety and range in terms of photographic possibilities, which I really appreciate. For example, the ultrawide camera has a 120-degree field of view, while the periscope zoom camera can zoom in on an object up to 60x.
In general, the X50 Pro captured crisp and vibrant photos that captured my surroundings wonderfully and with accurate colors. But in certain lighting conditions, during sunset for example, photos were more saturated and punched-up in the X50 Pro than the iPhone 11 Pro. Whichever photo you prefer is likely a matter of personal preference, but you can see the difference for yourself in the photos below. Keep in mind that the monitor you're viewing these pictures on has an affect as well.
The Vivo X50 Pro captured a fiery yellow-orange sunset (left), while the photograph taken by the iPhone XS Max (right) was more true to life.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
This photo was taken indoors with the default lens. As you can see, there was natural light pouring through the windows and it wasn't the easiest lighting conditions for the camera to work with, but the image came out well.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
This image was taken using the default shooter and is more saturated in the photo than it was in real life.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
This image was taken at night using the camera's dedicated Night Mode setting.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
The phone's 60x zoom, known as "Hyper Zoom," doesn't close in as intimately as the Galaxy S20 Ultra's 100x "Space Zoom," but I was still blown away by the sheer power of it. Photos were blurry, but they still retained detail that I couldn't see with my own eyes. And when I didn't need to zoom that far, I was also able to take sharp and detailed images at 5x optical zoom, which few phones have.
Vivo's X50 Pro has range. Using its 60x hyper zoom, I was able to zoom into the sign on the hotel on the opposite side of the harbor. I couldn't see the sign with my naked eye and did not know it existed till I zoomed in with the phone.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
This image was taken on default settings (1x).
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
Zooming in 5x.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
Zooming in 10x.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
The four zoom modes side by side.
Sareena Dayaram/CNET
The phone's ultrawide lens captured sprawling landscapes and sunsets. Colors, however, weren't as true to life as they appeared when I took pictures with the X50 Pro's other lenses in most lighting conditions. For some reason, blues were darker on images taken with the ultrawide lens. This isn't a major flaw, but color accuracy is super important to photographers, and they're who Vivo is actively courting with this phone.
X50 Pro's software features and UI
The X50 Pro runs FunTouch OS 10.5 on top of Android 10. It's a clean interface that's easy to use. There was some bloatware, but most of it could be turned off and it didn't bother me much. The X50 Pro also comes with dark mode, an always-on display option and an app drawer. It also has circular icons, which I prefer to the rigidness of square ones.
Like most Android 10 phones, you'll use swiping gesture controls to navigate through the phone. But the phone does have some unintuitive controls of its own. In the early days of my reviewing the X50 Pro, for example, I accidentally hung up on a bunch of incoming calls. That's because to answer a call you need to swipe down as opposed to up, which is the more common direction on Android phones.
X50 Pro battery and performance
The X50 Pro's battery comfortably lasted me throughout the day with mild usage. That means I used it for light gameplay, reading the news on various apps, answering emails, scanning my social media account and chatting with loved ones on WhatsApp. When I continuously played an HD video on Airplane mode for battery tests, the phone lasted 15 hours, 22 minutes at 50% brightness.
When it did eventually run out of juice, it took the phone between 52 to 73 minutes to reach a full charge using the bundled 33-watt flash charger (during the three times that I tested it). That's a pretty good time -- most premium phones take about 90 minutes to fully charge. By comparison, Apple says the fast charger that comes with its iPhone 11 Pro can hit a 50% charge in 30 minutes. Fast charging is super handy, especially for those occasions when I'm about to leave my apartment and I realize my phone is almost dead.
The phone's Snapdragon 765G processor (the G stands for gaming BTW) is a lower-cost option for phone-makers to equip their phones with 5G. It isn't as powerful as the Snapdragon 865 chipset (as seen in the OnePlus 8 Pro and the Galaxy S20 line), but the 765G provided more than enough power for all my processing needs. The X50 Pro stacked up well in benchmark tests against other phones equipped with the same chip like the OnePlus Nord and LG Velvet. And when I played more demanding, graphics-intensive games such as PUBG, I didn't notice any lags or stuttering. The gaming experience was immersive and graphics were crisp.
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 Plus review: A decent video-chat display marred by its maker
Facebook Portal Plus review: A decent video-chat display marred by its maker
In 2019 we reviewed Facebook's Portal, Portal Plus and Portal TV devices, video chatting displays and cameras that included fun AR, but left us scratching our head about their real practicality. We didn't feel comfortable recommending them due to Facebook's questionable data privacy issues in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica breach.
Fast-forward to today and things haven't improved for Facebook. Despite continued investigations into how Facebook uses and shares data, the company is pressing forward with new, camera-focused hardware. The $350 Portal Plus is Facebook's most expensive display. The 14-inch touchscreen comes with AR features, video chatting and a handful of streaming music and media services. Alexa is built in for smart home commands and general knowledge inquiries.
Molly Price/CNET
Even without the dark cloud of Facebook's branding hovering over the Portal Plus, it isn't a device worthy of anyone's $350. Apps are limited, controls aren't always intuitive and the dual-assistant setup of "Hey, Portal" and Alexa doesn't simplify anything. For the same (or likely less) money, you'd be better off with a tablet and folio stand or a smart display, depending on your wants and needs.
I've included two charts at the end of this review comparing tablets, displays and Portals. For now, let's dive into the details of the Portal Plus. One note: I reviewed the new, $200 Portal Go alongside this larger model and the two are extremely similar save for a few details of the physical design and of course the size and price. For that reason, several sections in this review are similar to my observations about the Portal Go.
The Portal Plus is large and looks good displaying my favorite photos.
Molly Price/CNET
Design
The Portal Plus' second generation has an entirely different look than the first. It's sleeker, with a slightly smaller 14-inch display with a 2,160x1,440-pixel resolution mounted on a rectangular speaker base. You can tilt the display up or down. A physical camera shutter and mute button offer manual privacy for the 12-megapixel front-facing camera that has a 131-degree field of view and will pan and zoom to keep you in frame.
Beneath the fabric base, a four-mic array listens for your "Hey, Portal," "Hey, Facebook" or, "Hey, Alexa" commands. Two 5-watt full range speakers and one 20-watt woofer put out plenty of sound for music, video streaming and chatting. The Portal Plus uses what Facebook calls "Smart Sound" AI to reduce background noise for the person speaking to Portal.
The first-gen Portal Plus was big and bulky, but its screen could rotate.
James Martin/CNET
The design is a sure improvement over the bulky, original Portal Plus. However, this screen can't rotate between landscape and portrait orientations.
Features
Nearly everything about the Portal Plus is identical to the Portal Go, only on a larger and corded scale. The limited amount of apps available on these two devices is a disappointment. These new Portals just doesn't do as much as any tablet or smart display and the Portal Plus costs more than many of those. There are so few apps (24 to be exact) that I can list them all right here. If I tried to do that with a tablet, Amazon Echo skills or Google Nest compatible apps and devices we would need a bigger internet. Here's the full 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
The odd thing about this list is what's not on it. There aren't apps for Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp. Instead, features from those apps are built into various parts of the Portal experience. You can link your Instagram account to display your Instagram feed photos on the Portal Plus' ambient screen. Messenger chat rooms are used when you video-call your contacts. You can use WhatsApp to set up the Portal instead of Facebook (but doing so will disable the "Hey, Portal" voice integration).
I asked Facebook representatives why these in-house apps aren't available. Here's what they had to say:
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. My first instinct wouldn't be to scroll Instagram on a display that isn't handheld like my phone or tablet. I probably also wouldn't choose to hunt and peck on a vertical touchscreen to reply to WhatsApp messages. All that to say, just be warned if you think this device primarily for your social media apps -- it isn't.
Facebook could add more apps to the Portal Plus with future updates. Smart displays from other brands have taken this approach. I expect this list to expand, but for now these are the only for apps available on the Portal Plus.
Video chatting
You can video chat with BlueJeans, GoToMeeting, Webex, Workplace and Zoom. Support for Microsoft Teams is in the works for later this year. Video-calling your contacts begins in the Contacts app, where you'll create a Messenger room in order to chat. The contacts available here are pulled from the WhatsApp or Facebook account you used to set up the Portal. However, if someone you want to call doesn't have a Facebook or Messenger account, you can send them a link to join the room.
The Portal Plus's AR camera and Story Time are the headlining features of this device. When you're in a video call, tapping the Experiences button brings up a menu to access Story Time, Photo Casting, Watch Together or Effects. This is where you'll find fun filters and special effect backgrounds.
Here's a collection of the weird and wacky filters you'll find in the Portal Plus Photo Booth app and in Messenger room effects.
Molly Price/CNET
Open Story Time during a call (or on your own without a call ongoing) and you'll find stories with filters and special effects that interact with the person in front of the camera. The story text appears in the top left corner of the screen and little instructions pop up here and there to show you how to initiate some special effects.
Stories include popular series like Dr. Seuss, Pete the Cat, Llama Llama, Todd Parr and Jon Burgerman. You can also select classics like Three Little Pigs, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Little Red Riding Hood. Story Time is the most fun you can have on Portal. I just wish it were available as an app on third-party devices like tablets or other displays.
Privacy
We can't really review Facebook hardware without pointing out the ongoing saga of Facebook's data and privacy issues. Dig deeper into the Portal privacy features here if you like, but these are the big takeaways.
The Portal Plus is listening for the "Hey, Portal" or "Hey, Facebook" wake word. If it detects the phrase, Portal sends a transcript and recording of that voice interaction to Facebook. Those "Hey, Portal" and "Hey, Facebook" transactions are kept on Facebook's servers for up to three years, while "false wakes" are deleted within 90 days of detection. That's if you don't take any action. If you choose to, you can review and delete your voice interactions in the Portal Plus's settings.
You could choose to disable voice interaction recording entirely in the device's settings, but it is turned on by default. If you only connect your Portal to WhatsApp on initial setup, "Hey, Portal" won't work at all, thanks to WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption.
A physical camera shutter and mute button add some peace of mind. A red light indicates the microphone is muted. The Portal Plus's camera uses AI technology that is processed locally, not on Facebook servers. The camera doesn't have any facial recognition abilities.
A physical shutter, red light and on-screen notification let you know the camera and microphones are turned off.
Molly Price/CNET
Better options
There are two ways you could approach Portal Plus alternatives, but you need to know what exactly you're after. If you're looking for a device that's great for streaming video, has thousands of apps, including social media, get a tablet.
There are plenty of 10- to 15-inch tablets available that provide a big enough screen and a good camera. Nearly any model from Samsung, Amazon or Apple will give you more features, processing power, apps for streaming and social media platforms. Treat yourself to an Apple Pencil or S Pen for Apple or Samsung models, and you've got even more options.
If you're looking for an Alexa-focused smart home screen, the Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 10 are both far better (and often more affordable) options with broader apps for streaming and video chatting. Both are often available for less than the Portal Plus' $350 list price.
The following charts compare popular tablets and smart displays with 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
1,280x800
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
Facebook Watch, Red Bull TV, Food Network, Facebook Live, CBS News, Plex
Netflix, Youtube, CW, HBONow, Starz, Red Bull TV, Crackle
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Food Network, Red Bull TV, Tubi
Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Food Network, Red Bull TV, Tubi
