TikTok Launches Refreshed Desktop App

TikTok has launched a revised desktop app, which looks to better align with its more popular in-app experience.

As you can see in this image, TikTok’s updated web design is more modular, essentially recreating the full-screen mobile look within the parameters of your PC screen.

TikTok says that it’s repositioned the navigation bar to better align with the larger screen, while also reducing distractions during playback.

TikTok also notes that the updated desktop app also includes a refreshed “For You” feed, and a new Explore tab, both of which are now more aligned to web viewing.

It’s also refreshed its live-stream presentation to provide more responsive presentation in different formats.

As per TikTok:

“Go LIVE in portrait or landscape mode, delivering a full-screen horizontal view for desktop users, while mobile users can simply rotate their devices to enjoy an equally dynamic viewing experience.”

TikTok says that this updated live-stream display is particularly beneficial for gaming streamers.

It’s also got a new floating player option (in Google Chrome), which will keep your TikTok player visible above other windows, “allowing you to multitask without missing out on your favorite content,” while it’s also added a new “Collections” feature, so you can better organize your favorite clips.

It’s not a massive change, but the idea is that this refresh will make it easier for people to engage with TikTok as intended, with the app primarily aligned with its mobile presentation. The updated format works more like an emulator in this sense, in that it reframes the screen into a mobile-like format, which should ideally help to recreate the in-app experience, as opposed to supplementing it.

The vast majority of TikTok users will, of course, continue to access the app on mobile, so it’s unlikely to be a big change either way, but it could be an improvement for those looking to engage with TikTok’s as the creator intended.