Meta is known for...just kidding - I don't think we need to go there. In 2017 I was fortunate enough to contribute to the early discovery and development of Meta's first hardware product - Portal. With this product, Meta's hypothesis was that users were looking for hands-free, instant access to video communication. Consider Grandma who doesn't live near their Grandchildren, families who are apart for a period of time or friends who aren't geographically close but want to stay connected. Some of the key hands-free tech within this product included the ability to start a call with just your voice, hands-free zoom so a user didn't have to stay in a specific location to be seen or if multiple people were in the room - the camera would ensure all were visible.

From user-testing, the value of the main selling feature - hands-free calling - was more of a novelty and the delight would fade quickly. Interacting with the device, users would have a quick a-ha moment when using the device and walking freely in a space. The ability to multitask while having a video chat was that initial a-ha moment. Once the novelty wore off, this was quickly followed by a 'boo-hoo' moment - the realization that this device was both listening to and watching you. And until the very late addition of a lens cover, the vision of the product was to live in the home as "always on".

The idea that this device would sit centrally within a home essentially becoming a "digital hub" - it needed to do more. As a team we brainstormed a number of ways to add more value to the device and one of the ways we decided to pursue was to make it a central smart home hub. A place where a household could have access to all the smart devices within it.