The TikTok app was launched for Samsung's smart TVs in Europe and the UK last year. During its Unbox & Discover virtual event yesterday, the South Korean tech giant announced that the short-form video-sharing app would be available on its smart TVs in the US later this year.
Samsung said that most of its 2021 smart TVs in the US will get the TikTok app later this year as a part of its global partnership with the social media company. Users won't require to create a TikTok account to watch videos on the app. They can browse through 12 categories in which trending videos will show up.
Two Samsung smart TVs are uniquely positioned to take full advantage of the TikTok app: The Frame and The Sero. The Sero is a 43-inch smart TV that can rotate to switch between landscape and portrait modes, and since TikTok contains portrait (vertical) videos, they'll fit perfectly. Even The Frame can be installed in portrait mode, perfect for TikTok videos.
Samsung's traditional form factor TVs with a landscape screen show TikTok videos with fill-in bars to either side. The TikTok app will also be released for the company's smart TVs in other markets, but the company didn't share a specific list of countries or a timeline.