Facebook Portal Smart Speaker

The Facebook Portal has fair overall sound quality. Bass has so-so impact but is subdued and deep bass is lacking. Midrange is somewhat hazy, grainy and nasal. Treble is prominent, thin and sizzly. Doesn't do a good job of recovering room ambience and is somewhat congested. No significant difference between WiFi and Bluetooth sound quality. Provides an adequate listening volume for a small sized room.

Versatility is good. It's a stereo speaker, which lacks multi-room support and stereo pairing support with another Portal display. Wireless: WiFi supports dual-band and this unit has Bluetooth but is unble to output its audio to another speaker and lacks speakerphone functionality. Communications: Has support for calling and messaging, but lacks support for texting. Digital Assistant Muting: Has a dedicated touch control to disable the digital assistant by muting its microphones and video camera. Audio Connections: Lacks analog audio input and outputs. Audio Tailoring: Lacks user adjustable treble and bass controls. OS Support: Android, iOS and Fire OS for Amazon Alexa - no native app required for Portal. Other connections and features: Has a USB device port. Display: Has a touchscreen information display. Streaming by voice command: Supports voice command of many common streaming services such as Amazon music, Pandora, Spotify, Tune-In and iHeart Radio. Voice ID: Lacks support to setup voice identity using this speaker, although it can use a voice print stored in a user's Amazon account trained from an Amazon speaker. This feature allows the account holder to access personal information with their "voice print".

Overall ease of use of the Facebook Portal is very good. Wireless setup: Setup does not require an app downloaded to a device, easy setup with on screen instructions however, not intuitive - has many tedious steps. Requires Facebook login, and a code verification via a mobile device or computer, for audio streaming services and Amazon Alexa after login requires verifying prompts changes in a separate browser window of the mobile device or PC. Bluetooth: The unit Bluetooth setting is "On" by default. However, Bluetooth pairing didn't begin until after the Bluetooth menu was selected. The unit provided no pairing indicator nor an indicator when pairing was complete. No verbal command can intiate Bluetooth pairing. Console controls: Volume controls are prominent +/- touch controls and the display provides a graphical indicator of volume level which are non-persistent and easily repeatable via verbal commands and easy to actuate. Audio mute: Has on screen touch control to play/pause that is well marked, well placed, but non-persistent indication on unit when muting is engaged. Microphone/Video mute: Ambiguously marked, well placed, clear indication when it is engaged. Also provided with a physical cover for the camera. Source selections: Streaming services can be requested by a voice command or directly via the display panel but can't switch to Bluetooth by voice command or screen selection but requires manually reconnecting paired Bluetooth device. App remote: None. Voice transport controls: Natural language control of transport (Play/Pause/Skip/Mute), volume controls and source selection was easy and intuitive.