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Chinese startup ByteDance, which owns the popular short-form video app TikTok, clarified that its smartphone will not be launching in the US, Forbes reports. According to a ByteDance spokesperson, reports from earlier this week that the company was planning to produce a smartphone through a deal with device maker Smartisan were misunderstood.
Earlier this year, ByteDance acquired a number of Smartisan’s patents and brought over some of its employees to produce the phone. “Reports of our smartphone development strictly refer to a continuation of plans that were in place before ByteDance began working with Smartisan. The focus is on meeting the needs of Smartisan’s existing customer base in China,” ByteDance told Forbes. Gizmodo also…