First smartphone from TikTok maker launched in China

TikiTok is easily one of the most popular apps with young people around the globe these days with its mix short, but entertaining videos a particularly sticky platform. The Chinese company behind the app, Bytedance, is now looking to leverage that popularity in its home market of China with a new smartphone that centers on the TikTok experience. Bytedance has partnered with fellow Chinese smartphone maker Smartisan to release the oddly named Nut Pro 3 with TikTok fans in its sights.

Users who buy a Smartisan Nut Pro 3 will be able to launch the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, with a simple swipe from the bottom of the display. The integration goes deeper by allowing users to apply TikTok filters and video effects to videos shot by the user. It is not the first time a social media company has tried to launch a smartphone focused on its features – Facebook partnered with HTC on the HTC First which, also happened to be the last Facebook-focused smartphone after it crashed and burned.

While the HTC First was a mid-range device, the Smartisan Nut Pro 3 is all high-end, although very affordably priced by US standards. It features a 6.39-inch AMOLED panel, a Snapdragon 855+ paired with at either 8 GB or 12 GB of RAM and mated to either 128 GB or 256 GB storage. It also packs a decent 4,000 mAh battery, so it is right up from specs perspective. The price, however? It starts from the equivalent of just US$412.