TikTok Rolls Out an App Update to Enhance the Viewing Experience on Larger Screens

TikTok

TikTok rolled out an app update that enhances the viewing experience on tablets and foldable gadgets. Updates include the following:

• A refined video feed offering higher-resolution videos.

• A streamlined navigation bar with options at the top and bottom of the video stream.

• Topic Feeds (Gaming, Food, Fashion, and Sports) that provide dedicated feeds for popular content categories.

• Support for both landscape and portrait orientations.

Why It Matters: This aligns with TikTok's larger screen ambitions, a significant trend in 2023 across social media. These ambitions include the recently launched 'Out of Phone,' an out-of-home advertising solution that allows brands to display TikTok content on billboards, in movie theaters, gas stations, and more.

This mirrors YouTube's strategy, which introduced a dedicated experience for watching Shorts on connected TVs in 2022. It also aligns with TikTok's focus on getting creators to invest in longer videos.

While specific data on TikTok content consumption on devices other than mobile phones is currently unavailable, the growing trend of content consumption on such devices for platforms like YouTube suggests a comparable shift for TikTok.

Future updates, including a potential upgraded TikTok TV App and ongoing incentives for longer videos, suggest a continued emphasis on larger screen experiences. This evolution may encourage creators, brands, and advertisers to consider the appearance of their videos across various viewing experiences, prompting adjustments such as improving video quality and creating more episodic content to cater to lean-in