TikTok parent company ByteDance is looking to launch its own smartphone that would come with pre-installed apps.
ByteDance revealed this while talking to Forbes when a ByteDance spokesperson said that the company was following up on “plans that were in place before ByteDance began working with Smartisan, the focus is on meeting the needs of Smartisan’s existing customer base in China.”
After the success of TikTok, ByteDance is now the world’s most valuable startup, surpassing Uber in the list. You will be surprised to know that TikTok is bigger than Twitter and Snapchat with more monthly installs than Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Earlier this year, ByteDance acquired patents from Smartisan- a Chinese smartphone company in a deal that saw some employees also transfer to the Beijing-based ByteDance in what it called a “normal flow of talent”.
Smartisan is known for its OTT media events where people get to watch musical performances from some of China’s top music artists.
Launched in China in 2016, TikTok saw as many as 300 million monthly active users by 2018 before moving to international markets and replicating that success to the tune of more than 500 million active users worldwide.
Even after having a strong user base in the US with 14.3 million unique visitors, these smartphones will not launch in the US and will exclusively be sold in the Chinese market, which means an India launch is also unlikely in the initial stage.
Also Read: TikTok Parent Company To Set Up A Data Centre In India. See Why
The company will only focus on its Chinese user base for now and there are no plans to compete with the likes of Samsung or Apple.
