immortal

Immortal is a custom replacement home screen for Meta Portal smart display devices. Meta discontinued the Portal product line, meaning the devices no longer receive official updates or support. Immortal is a community project that turns these orphaned devices into something useful again by replacing the default interface with a new launcher, a photo frame screensaver, and a small app store.

The launcher is a grid of apps with a clock, date, and weather display across the top. You can organize apps into folders by dragging them together, and there is a tile for making calls through WhatsApp or Messenger since those were the original Portal's main features. The screensaver mode turns the device into a digital photo frame showing your own photos and videos, with weather and clock overlays. It uses the Portal's built-in presence sensor so the frame runs while someone is nearby and can pause when the room is empty.

The built-in app store serves a catalog of curated apps that are compatible with Portal hardware. It handles downloading and installing apps directly on the device without needing to connect a computer. Community members can submit their own Portal-compatible apps to be listed in the catalog. The store also handles updates for Immortal itself, so the software can improve over time without any cables or manual work.

First-generation Portal devices have a broken system installer, which normally makes sideloading apps impossible. Immortal works around this with a helper process that the provisioning kit sets up over USB once, after which installs work silently through the store. The provisioning step is a single double-click on Windows or Mac.

The project supports all Portal models including the Portal TV, which has no touchscreen and is driven entirely by a remote control. The TV version has full D-pad navigation across the entire interface.