TikTok parent company Bytedance will not launch its smartphone in the US

Viral social video app TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has announced that its purported **plans of entering the smartphone business** will not be for the users in the US. A ByteDance spokesperson told Forbes that reports of smartphone development refer to a continuation of plans that were in place before the company started working with China-based **smartphone manufacturer Smartisan** . Bytedance said earlier this week, that a **smartphone had been part of Smartisan’s development plans** before the deal it made with ByteDance. “The product was a continuation of earlier Smartisan plans, aiming to satisfy the needs of the old Smartisan user base,” the spokeswoman added. [caption id=“attachment_6675431” align=“alignnone” width=“1000”]  TikTok.[/caption] The company does not have plans to compete with flagship smartphones from top players such as the iPhone or Galaxy phones. The focus is instead on Smartisan’s existing customer base in China. Earlier this year  **ByteDance acquired a set of patents from Smartisan** . Some Smartisan employees also transferred to ByteDance, as part of what the latter company called a “normal flow of talent.” Smartisan is a niche player in China’s smartphone sector and is best known for its flamboyant founder Luo Yonghao. ByteDance has risen to become a leading player in tech, rivaling the likes of Baidu Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd in influence. ByteDance has recently begun investing in sectors not directly related to social media. The company has hired staff from London-based startup JukeDeck, which specializes in AI-generated music, Reuters reported in July. With inputs from ANI,