TikTok is testing horizontal videos on smartphones
Miscellaneous / / April 05, 2023
TikTok started testing full screen horizontal mode among users around the world. Participants in the experiment were selected randomly. They got access to a new button that rotates the video and interface by 90°.
This is another attempt by the platform to compete with YouTube: earlier this year, TikTok already changed the content requirements and allowed post 10 minute videos. For allowed to attract new authors who lacked traditional short videos: for example, for tutorials on cooking, makeup or other educational materials.
It looks like the experiment worked, and TikTok is now making watching longer videos more convenient. Now many long videos are already uploaded in a horizontal format - and ask viewers to turn their phone while watching. With the change in the TikTok interface, the need for this will disappear.
As with any experimental features, it's not clear if horizontal videos will reach all users. Perhaps, at the testing stage, they will decide to abandon this idea, or I will finalize it for greater convenience. For example, you can make landscape mode turn on automatically when you turn your phone: now you need to press the full screen button to do this.
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