Social distancing doesn't have to mean completely disconnecting. These days there are various gadgets designed to help us stay virtually in touch. One of them is Facebook's Portal smart display.
Ending today (March 25), when you buy two Portal (Gen 1) smart displays, you'll get $50 off. After discount, that comes out to $308 for two Portals. That's the second-best Portal deal we've seen this month.
Portal is the social network's smart display, which can be placed anywhere in your home to make video calls. It features Amazon's Alexa, so you can use voice commands to listen to your favorite playlist, watch the news, get local weather, or more.
In our Portal review, we were impressed by the device's excellent video and sound quality. We also like how the display's Smart Camera intuitively follows you in a room, whereas its Smart Sound feature enhances the voice of whoever is talking.
Keep in mind that Facebook's privacy track record isn't the best. However, Facebook assures us that Portal doesn't track individual faces, but instead tracks human-like shapes. Likewise, it doesn't record or use the content of your calls.
This deal is valid through March 25.