Samsung Smart TVs get exclusive TikTok TV app in Europe
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Its fate in the US may still be hanging in the balance but TikTok's business elsewhere around the globe continues to be strong and lucrative. In fact, it has partnered with other companies to help spread its service and its name to devices beyond smartphones. In Europe, it has signed a juicy deal with Samsung that will let users of the brand enjoy the looping short video clips on Smart TVs, giving it somewhat of a Netflix vibe.
There are just some apps and services that seemed to be designed for smartphones and nothing else. Instagram, for example, as long stayed away even from tablets exactly because of its phone-centric nature. Although TikTok is almost similar, it isn't shying away from spreading its viral videos anywhere and everywhere.
Its latest expansion is on Samsung Smart TVs, at least those being sold in Europe. A new TikTok TV app will be available on all 2018 to 2020 models, excluding the rotating Sero that won't get the app until next year. That almost seems ironic considering The Sero can rotating into a portrait orientation to mimic a smartphone's screen.
That said, the TikTok TV experience isn't exactly like the TikTok phone experience, and not just because you can't really create videos from a smart TV. The app offers the usual "For You" and "Following" feeds along with the rest of TikTok's library, organized into 12 categories. Users will be able to like or even comment on videos, presuming you're comfortable typing out your reaction using the Smart TV remote.
This follows the availability of another TikTok app, this time for the Amazon Fire TV, last August. That app, however, served up curated content while this Samsung Smart TV version delivered an experience closer to the mobile app, sans the camera, of course.