TikTok rolls out an enhanced app experience for tablets and foldables | TechCrunch

TikTok has rolled out an update to enhance the app experience for viewers on tablets and foldable devices, the company announced on Monday. The company says the app is now better optimized for larger screens, as viewers can now experience a clear video feed, streamlined navigation bars and orientation support.

With this new update, TikTok says users will see a refined video feed that “showcases content with enhanced clarity.” Users will also now see navigation bars at the top and bottom of the screen in order to easily access to the app’s features and tabs.

Plus, the app will now work in landscape or portrait orientation. Today’s announcement comes a year after TikTok began testing a horizontal full screen mode on mobile globally. By rolling out a landscape mode on larger devices, TikTok is inching further into YouTube’s territory, which it has already been doing by supporting longer videos. Since TikTok has been supporting long-form content for quite some time now, it makes sense for the company to enhance the viewing experience for users who are watching things like cooking demos and beauty tutorials on their tablets. The company likely hopes that the new mode will convince people who usually watch YouTube on their tablets to spend their time on TikTok instead.

“While most people already know and love TikTok on their mobile devices, we know many also like to access it on larger screens and foldable devices,” the company wrote in a blog post. “Whether they’re watching the latest cooking trends or searching for the latest soccer highlights, we’re excited to share that TikTok is now better optimized for tablets and foldable gadgets.

It’s worth noting that TikTok’s optimization for foldables and tablets comes as Instagram, one of its main competitors, still lacks an iPad app. By rolling out updates for the app experiences on larger devices, TikTok is able to move beyond its mobile-first approach at a time when the competition is still behind.