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The
plans come as the tech firm expands into new sectors beyond
video and news apps.
In a statement, a ByteDance spokeswoman said a smartphone had
been part of Smartisan's development plans before the deal it
made with ByteDance.
"The product was a continuation of earlier Smartisan plans,
aiming to satisfy the needs of the old Smartisan user base," the
spokeswoman added.
On Monday a sub-division of Chinese financial news outlet
Caijing reported that the phone had been in development for
seven months. The effort is being led by Wu Dezhou, a former
executive at Smartisan, the outlet added.
Earlier this year ByteDance acquired a set of patents from
Smartisan. Some Smartisan employees also transferred to
ByteDance, as part of what the latter company called a "normal
flow of talent."
Smartisan is a niche player in China's smartphone sector and is
best known for its flamboyant founder Luo Yonghao.
ByteDance has risen to become a leading player in tech, rivaling
the likes of Baidu Inc and Tencent Holdings Ltd in influence.
Douyin, the company's app for streaming short videos, has more
than 300 million monthly users in China, ByteDance marketing
manager Zhi Ying said in June. TikTok, Douyin's global-facing
counterpart, has also grown popular in North America.
ByteDance has recently begun investing in sectors not directly
related to social media. The company has hired several staff
from London-based startup JukeDeck, which specializes in
AI-generated music, Reuters reported in July.
(Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman
and David Holmes)
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