TikTok Parent ByteDance Developing Its Own Smartphone: Report

Chinese Internet technology company ByteDance has seen some success with its various apps and services, particularly TikTok. The video sharing service gained popularity when the company acquired Musical.ly and merged it into TikTok, which is gaining significant attention in India. Reports now suggest that ByteDance is looking to boost its product portfolio with its own smartphone, which could come with various ByteDance apps preloaded. Although no details of the smartphone have been revealed, it's likely that the device will be a budget offering to cater to the typical audience of ByteDance's apps.

A report by the Financial Times suggests that the device is in the works. Apart from the popular TikTok app, ByteDance has also developed other popular apps, including Douyin, which is the version of TikTok in use in China. Although both apps work on the same software, ByteDance maintains separate networks for the two apps to adhere to stricter Chinese censorship laws. The company also has News Republic and TopBuzz, which are the company's other international offerings.

Citing Financial Times, PhoneArena reports the smartphone will likely come with the entire suite of ByteDance's consumer apps pre-installed, and could also have features geared around popular apps such as TikTok. The device is likely to be a budget offering considering that most of TikTok's users are young people who may not have a very high budget for a smartphone.

According to The Verge, ByteDance recently signed a deal with Smartisan to acquire a patent portfolio and hire some Smartisan employees. This set of assets could help the company develop its new smartphone. However, whether such a smartphone is convincing enough for buyers remains the question, given that ByteDance's apps work on practically every Android and iOS smartphone around.