TikTok Updates Desktop Experience with New Features to Compete More with YouTube
TikTok / Updated Desktop Experience
Despite still not having a buyer, TikTok is pushing forward with a new desktop update. The changes include:
Immersive Modular Design: A modular layout featuring a repositioned navigation bar for a more immersive experience.
LIVE Gaming Stream: Streamers can now go LIVE in portrait or landscape mode, offering a full-screen horizontal view for desktop users. Mobile users can rotate their devices to watch in horizontal mode as well.
Web-Exclusive Floating Player: Available only on desktop via Google Chrome, this flexible floating window keeps TikTok visible above other windows, allowing users to multitask without missing content.
New Collections: Users can now organize their favorite videos into custom categories, making it easier to find and revisit saved content.
Why It Matters: After a period of smaller updates to the desktop experience, such as the Floating Player, the ability to sort videos on user profiles, and the addition of ads, TikTok is now rolling out bigger updates. These will provide a more immersive experience on desktop, aligning more closely with the mobile app’s best features. This move strengthens TikTok’s push against YouTube, with more prominent comments and the ability for users to easily curate content with Collections—similar to YouTube Playlists.
Additionally, this update highlights a smaller trend of mobile-first social media platforms upgrading their web experiences. For example, Instagram has notably been making updates to its app experience on desktop, including adding more features for boosting and updating accounts to have the vertical profile grid. It also has plans to bring its recently announced updates for Direct Messages to desktop too. This all makes sense, given that people are using all different devices from phones to tablets to laptops, and even TV for their social media consumption.
