Meta is discontinuing its Portal video-calling smart displays and its two remaining unannounced wristwatch projects as the corporation slashes 11,000 positions, many of whom are in tech departments. Reuters reported earlier today that the business intended to discontinue both Portal and smartwatches, citing Meta executives who spoke at a town hall gathering; we heard the same thing from additional sources, thus we can independently confirm the story.
Meta had previously discreetly chosen to cease creating Portal devices for customers in June and had shelved the wristwatch codenamed “Milan,” which was supposed to come in spring 2023 for roughly $349 and have two built-in cameras for video conversations.
According to our sources, Meta is now abandoning its intentions to offer Portal video calling devices to companies, as well as the other two smartwatches that were in the early and intermediate stages of development.
According to Reuters, over half (46 per cent) of Meta’s 11,000 layoffs were in technology, citing executives who participated at the town hall gathering. It’s unclear how many of them were directly in hardware sectors. Meta isn’t done producing hardware, but the majority of its other initiatives are in support of its AR and VR aspirations, including headsets like the Meta Quest Pro we recently reviewed.
