ByteDance, the creator of short video app TikTok, says it’s launching a smartphone pre-installed with its own apps, reported the Financial Times on Friday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
The device under development is a smartphone designed for children. It can be seen more as an attempt to make inroads into the educational sector, rather than an attempt to become a fully-fledged player in the smartphone hardware sector, reported The Beijing News on Monday, citing other sources.
ByteDance declined to comment when contacted by 36Kr on Monday.
Bytedance said in January that it acquired some patents of smartphone maker Smartisan to adapt them for hardware used in education products and services, but declined to comment further when contacted by KrAsia.
The company plans to launch its own online education platform for kindergarten, primary, and secondary students this summer. In May 2018, ByteDance unveiled the online tutoring portal Gogokid to compete with the Tencent-backed VIPKid.
36Kr is KrAsia’s parent company.
