All the big players - Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft and Samsung - have been working on their smart devices, it's no surprise Facebook wants to jump in on the action as well, and we might get to see the results early next year.
Google has its Google Home, Apple has its HomePod, Microsoft is partnering with as many brands as it can to put Cortana on all sorts of devices and, of course, Amazon has been cruising ahead and expanding its range of Echo devices. Now, Facebook seems to be working on their Echo Show clone, a device that will focus on video calls or, perhaps more accurately, work as a sort of virtual window that will bring people closer together regardless of how far away they are.
True, Amazon's Echo Show already has a drop-in feature that allows users to see what's happening on the other side without the need for the people to accept the call (for contacts with permission to do so); but I think it's the sort of device that people may welcome. Just imagine having a couple of screens that act as a window that peers into your best friends and/or close family at all time, allowing you to talk to them and watch their living room just as if you were there (and vice-versa).
Not to mention that Facebook can go even further, in the long run, as it already has a foothold in the VR space with Ocululs. Which means it could easily upgrade such a system in order to make us feel like we're actually there, or sharing a single living room with several friends from around the world.
For now we'll have to wait... but let's hope they do come up with a great "social" device for 2018.
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