The company behind TikTok, ByteDance is reportedly building its own smartphone as well, according to a Financial Times report. The phone, according to the report, will be the result of CEO Zhang Yiming’s ‘dream’ of building a phone full of preloaded applications.
This phone also, will come with pre loaded ByteDance apps like TikTok and an unreleased music streaming service.
The company had earlier struck a deal with phone maker Smartisan, The Verge reported. ByteDance had claimed this deal would help it “explore the education business,” however, this news indicates towards another reason.
Nothing in terms of the product is known yet (design, specs, etc.) but the Financial Times report did mention the US government’s hostility towards Chinese companies being a hurdle for ByteDance. Even in India, TikTok was banned briefly by the Telecommunications department for promoting cultural degradation.
(With inputs from The Financial Times and The Verge.)
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