Rumors have been swirling for a while that Facebook Inc. could enter the smart home market with a voice-activated video chat device. Today, Cheddar reported that the social network will formally unveil the product next week.

The online news network attributed the information to anonymous “people familiar with the matter.” On top of providing a time frame for the launch, the tipsters shared new details about the device that expand upon the information already out there.

Word emerged in January that the product is set to ship under the name Portal and will resemble Amazon.com Inc.’s Echo Show. The latter device is a voice-activated display powered by Alexa that provides all the core features of a smart speaker, along with additional features such as the ability to watch movies and make video calls. Amazon on Thursday unveiled an improved model with a bigger 10-inch screen and a feature for controlling other devices.

In a departure from the Echo Show, the Portal will apparently come in two editions. The tipsters said that one model could become available for about $400 while the other, smaller version may be priced at $300.

The sources also reaffirmed the earlier rumor that the device includes a wide-angle camera to facilitate video calls. Facebook is said to have paired it with artificial intelligence software that can associate users with their Facebook accounts and, perhaps even notably, follow them from room to room. The latter detail suggests the company’s goal is to have consumers buy multiple units for their homes.

Facebook has apparently taken the potential privacy implications into account, with the tipsters saying that it recently added a shutter for disabling the camera. The mechanism was reportedly developed as a direct response to the heavily diminished public trust in the social network’s handling of personal data.

Much of the damage to Facebook’s reputation is the result of its high-profile privacy controversies earlier this year. The same scandals reportedly led executives to push back the announcement of the Portal from the original target date, which is said to have been in May, to this month. Cheddar’s tipsters claimed that employees have spent the past few months testing the device in their homes and showing it to “major retailers.”

The Portal could emerge as a direct competitor to Amazon’s Show Echo if and when it launches. Even so, today’s leak suggests that the device will integrate with Alexa to enable voice control. Facebook might eventually add also support for Google Assistant and Apple Inc.’s Siri given that it does not yet offer its own voice assistant. 

Photo: Marco Paköeningrat/Flickr