Bytedance and Kakao both launched branded smartphones, reviving trends they haven't seen in years. Unfamiliar with the names of these two companies, Bytedance owns a social video sensation, TikTok, and Kakao runs KakaoTalk, South Korea's premier messenger app.
Tictok phone
TikTok phone is inevitably known Smartisan Jianguo Pro 3. Bytedance revealed that it has been working on a smartphone project for a while after purchasing a patent from Chinese smartphone brand Smartisan earlier this year. TikTok app, known as Douyin in China, comes pre-installed on new phones and is accessed by swiping from the home screen.
Smartisan and Bytedance mobile phones also have good specifications. It has a 6.4 inch AMOLED screen, Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 Plus processor, and a 20 megapixel selfie. On the back is a quad-lens camera consisting of a 48 megapixel main lens, a 13 megapixel wide angle lens, an 8 megapixel telephoto lens and a 5 megapixel macro lens. Smartisan has been around for a few years but hasn't had much impact outside of China. Jianguo Pro 2 released in October 2018.
Smartisan phones have only been announced so far in China, but internationally the popularity of TikTok means there may be demand for devices elsewhere. However, due to the availability of the app, the absence of Smartisan outside of China, and many other smartphone purchases, it is unlikely that Jianguo Pro 3 will be launched worldwide.
Cacao phone
Kakao's phone, called Stage 5G, is a very different offer from Bytedance phones because it delivers Kakao's services entirely to the phone owner. Not only KakaoTalk, but also Kakao Pay has been specially created for quick and convenient use. Cacao's navigation app; Kakao Page, an audio, video and book service; And much more. All these apps can be accessed directly from your phone lock and home screen without the need to add them.
The phone's name also offers another big feature called 5G connectivity. Kakao has partnered with its own telecommunications subsidiary, Stage Five, and Chinese manufacturer ZTE to make the phone, which is cheaper than competing 5G phones already on sale in Korea. The Stage 5G phone has a 6.5-inch screen, a Snapdragon 855 chip, and a triple lens camera. Last month, Kakao and SK Telecom launched a strategic alliance for 5G service and content development.
Like the Smartisan phones, Stage 5G will not be sold outside of Korea.
The past is not kind
Smartphones made to provide certain social services are not new. Perhaps the best known so far are the so-called Facebook phones, 2011 HTC Status and 2013 HTC First. The phone has a hardware button to access Facebook or a Facebook home launcher software on top of Android.
Facebook's home launcher is available through Google Play, so you can turn any Android phone into a Facebook phone. Microsoft created its own multiservice social networking phone called Microsoft Kin in 2010. It was rumored that Snapchat was building smartphones before launching Snapchat Spectacles.
This old example was not popular. However, with the increase in the types of game phones and other niche devices and the increasing popularity of services like TikTok, new social phones can find their place.
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