Smartisan founder’s dream of beating Apple dies as ByteDance suspends smartphone business

ByteDance’s move has ended the dream of entrepreneur Luo Yonghao, who founded Android smartphone maker Smartisan Technology in 2012, to surpass Apple’s innovation in smartphones and other devices. — SCMP

ByteDance, owner of short video-sharing apps TikTok and Douyin, has suspended development of smartphones under the Smartisan brand to refocus on its Dali line of hardware products for the education sector.

New Stone Lab, the hardware project team that leads research and development at Smartisan, will be folded into the group behind ByteDance’s Dali smart lamp to create new education hardware products, according to a spokeswoman for the Beijing-based company.