Facebook’s Experimental Hardware Lab is Building Smart Devices for Your Home

Facebook wants to enter your home.

Currently, the social network’s only hardware venture is through its virtual reality arm, Oculus, which makes the Rift headset. But Facebook has plans to expand its hardware offerings, specifically in the arena of smart home devices, suggests a new report from Bloomberg.

The company is developing a device with a large touchscreen via its experimental lab, Building 8, which sources say represent “a new product category.” Facebook is also working on a smart speaker akin to the Amazon Echo and Google Home.

Building 8, constructed to tackle hardware projects, is comprised of veterans, including Regina Dugan, a former Google executive. At Facebook’s F8 conference in April, Dugan said her team was working on “social-first, category-defining consumer products.”

The speaker is expected to come in cheap at around $100, while the other device would cost significantly more. Currently both devices are mere prototypes, but Facebook could launch them as early as next year, sources say.