'TikTok' owner Bytedance plans first foray into consumer gadgets

'TikTok' video-sharing app and its Chinese version have been installed more than a billion times as of April.

Bytedance Ltd, owner of popular video app TikTok, is making its first foray into consumer hardware by developing educational gadgets.

The Chinese startup intends to release "educational hardware” in future, it said in a statement without elaborating. That initiative comes after the social media goliath acquired patents and hired staffers from smartphone maker Smartisan in January – a move it said at the time was geared toward the education market.