It was a year ago when Samsung announced the rotating Sero TV—which was perfect for watching TikToks or any other portrait videos. But… why would we even want something like that? Is this something we asked for? Whatever the reason was, it’s something that companies are convinced we’re going to want—and TikTok wholeheartedly agrees.
TikTok announces that they’re bringing the TikTok TV app to more TVs, and now in the United States and Canada. This includes Google TV and other Android TVs, and LG Smart TVs (2018 (webOS4.0) – 2021(webOS6.0) models) and Samsung Smart TVs. They’ve previously launched the app through Amazon Fire TV. In December 2020 TikTok was exclusively available on Samsung Smart TVs in Europe.
“We’re taking TikTok to the big screen in the living room, offering a new way to experience the joy and creativity of TikTok together at home. With our mobile app, we bring people little bursts of joy, and the big screen experience allows families and friends to easily enjoy TikTok together,” wrote TikTok.
I’m a huge TikTok fan. I scroll through the app almost every day, and I can often go on the app for so long I would forget how long I’ve been on it. Sometimes, I would even rather scroll through TikTok than choose a 30-minute show on Netflix—and I think the appeal of it is because it’s so non-committal but super addicting once you get into it.
Usually, instead of watching TV, my brother (Redza Dzafri, who also works here—just in case you’ve never made that connection before) and I would just scroll through TikTok on our own devices even if we’re in the same living room. Now that I think of it, it would theoretically be more fun to look through TikTok videos together. But as your TikTok For You feed is based on your own individual interests, it would not be as fun if—for example—the big screen only shows the content that I would be into, and not anyone else’s.
Luckily, TikTok had figured out that problem—but only for Apple users for now. The iOS 15.1 update turns the ‘For You’ page into the ‘For Us’ page when you watch TikTok videos through SharePlay. The ‘For Us’ page combines the best of each users’ TikTok algorithms.
The TikTok TV app includes the most liked and viewed videos across a huge range of categories, from gaming and comedy to food and animals. To get started, people can login to the TikTok TV app with their existing account. There is also a ‘Discover’ page, which is also something that shows up on the device app.
There is no word yet if the TV app would be available outside the U.S. and Canada. For now, it looks a bit unappealing to watch TikToks on a landscape TV because of all that extra space on the sides. But all this is solved if we fork out some money for the Sero.
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