TikTok integrated smartphone launched by Chinese company ByteDance

The video-sharing app has gained popularity globally for its ability to overlay videos over audio from a different source.

Chinese company ByteDance, which is the parent company of the social video app TikTok has launched its first phone – the Smartisan Jianguo Pro 3 in China this week. The phone is integrated with the app – it can be accessed right from the lock screen.

ByteDance has been rumoured to be working on a smartphone, ever since it has acquired smartphone-related patents from Smartisan, a mid-level Chinese phone company. The phone's name 'Jianguo' means nut in Mandarin.

The phone is currently available only in China. Here are its specifications:

Display: 6.39-inch full HD+ AMOLED
Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+
RAM: 8/12GB
Rear camera: 48-megapixel primary sensor, 13-megapixel wide-angle, 8-megapixel telephoto, 5-megapixel macro lens
Front camera: 20-megapixel
Battery: 4,000 mAh
Software: Smartisan OS 7

One of the interesting features of this smartphone seems its operating system – it is not offering Android out-of-the-box. Whether Smartisan OS is a standalone operating system such as the Harmony OS or an iteration of Android is not yet known.

Since the smartphone is China-specific, it is not offering the global version of the app. Rather, users can access DouYin app right from the lock screen.

The device will cost RMB 2,899 (£318 approx). The availability of the phone outside China is not yet known.

This is not the first time a smartphone maker has integrated an app into a smartphone's operating system. Many phones have offered Facebook and Twitter integration in the past.

However, the timing is kind of interesting. The US blacklisting of the biggest Chinese telecom company, Huawei has raised global suspicion about Chinese spyware on products. TikTok, despite being a Chinese backed app, has gained popularity during the same period.

A TikTok integrated phone may have a lot of attraction for buyers, but whether countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas allow the availability of such a phone remains to be seen.