Meta Portal (1st gen) and Portal+ (1st gen)

Note

Untested. No 1st-generation Portal has been run with Panel Assistant yet. Owners report that both models identify as aloha, Meta’s Android 9 platform, so the panel app gives them the Meta Portal family profile. Nothing measured on the Portal 10” (2nd gen) can be assumed here: it is a different, older platform.

Facebook launched the Portal and the Portal+ together in October 2018 as its first video-calling smart displays, sold first in the United States at $199 and $349. They share a camera, microphones and privacy controls, and run the same Meta software built on Android; they differ in screen and sound. Sellers often list every generation simply as “Portal”, so check the release year and screen before buying.

How the two differ

	Portal (1st gen)	Portal+ (1st gen)
Screen	10.1 in, 1280×800 (720p), landscape	15.6 in, 1920×1080 (1080p), rotates between landscape and portrait
Speakers	Two full-range drivers, 10 W	Two tweeters and a 4 in woofer
Camera	12 MP, 140° field of view, automatic framing and zoom	Same
Microphones	Four	Same
Privacy	A button that disconnects the camera and microphones, and a clip-on lens cover	Same
Radios	Wi-Fi and Bluetooth	Same
Android	9	9
Processor	Not published	Not published
Launch price	$199	$349

What this means for a panel

• ADB. Meta’s developer documentation lists the 1st-generation models alongside the later ones for its Settings › Debug › ADB Enabled switch, which is what Panel Assistant needs to install the panel app. See enabling ADB for the steps as measured on a 2nd-generation unit.
• Android 9 is above Panel Assistant’s minimum of Android 8.0.
• Sensors. Owners report an ambient light sensor and no motion sensor, so waking on movement, as Meta’s software does on the 2nd generation, is not expected.
• The Portal+ stand. The Portal+ screen pivots on a fixed base, which makes it a desk or shelf device rather than one for a wall.
• The Meta account, ADB after a restart and the factory reset are properties of Meta’s shared software. They were measured on the 10” (2nd gen) and are expected, not proven, here; read before you buy.

If you own one, the device codename and Android version it reports, from the panel app’s diagnostics, are the most useful things to send in.

Sources

• TechCrunch, October 2018: launch, prices, camera, microphones, the Portal+ rotating screen and woofer, the privacy button and cover, and the Android base.
• GearBrain review: screen sizes and resolutions, camera, speakers and Bluetooth.
• Meta for Developers: Portal setup for Android apps: the ADB procedure and each model’s Android level.