These days, there have been many new social media platforms that have seen a brief rise. Yet, they then fade out again just as fast. For instance, Ello, Facebook-like social media which rose in early 2014 or Peach, a social media rose at the end of 2017. To avoid that ByteDance develops a smartphone.
Tiktok does not want to repeat the same phenomena. Tiktok owner ByteDance wants more than just a viral short video. It, now, plans to make the devices people watch them on. The companies said that they plan to develop a smartphone. They have also stricken a deal with electronics company Smartisan.
However, even when ByteDance develops a smartphone, it is not trying to be the next big smartphone makers. Their new device will be a continuation of plans that were in place. They want to focus on fulfilling Smartisan’s existing customer demand.
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However, they do not give the details of the smartphone or the markets the smartphone sold in.
ByteDance Success
The plans, ByteDance develops a smartphone, come as ByteDance’s popular social media platform TikTok gained success. It got impressive user growth and revenue. TikTok users spent a record $10.8 million within the app last month. From that number, US users accounting for more than 20% of in-app purchases, according to data analytics firm Sensor Tower.
ByteDance owns more than a dozen apps. Their apps include news aggregator Jinri Toutiao, trending video platform Top Buzz and selfie app FaceU. The company’s reported valuation of $75 billion makes it the world’s most valuable startup.
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ByteDance’s global success is based on TikTok. Tiktok is an application that lets users share short videos of themselves lip-syncing, cooking, dancing or just being silly. The short video app has been installed more than 1.27 billion times, according to the same report.
TikTok’s international appeal sets it apart from other Chinese social media platforms. It has been above Tencent’s (TCEHY) WeChat, Sina Weibo (WB) and Alibaba’s (BABA) Youku. Those platforms have struggled to win over users outside of China.
