TikTok is coming to cars through infotainment system
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Mercedes Benz
Since TikTok replaced Musical.ly (remember that?) in 2016, the video platform has only gone from strength to strength.
For a lot of us, TikTok brings back a lot of memories of the pandemic and lockdown when things were very tough.
Those silly, now rather cringey TikTok dances did bring a lot of joy to a day that was very much spent indoors.
In the US alone, TikTok saw a 180 percent increase in its users, as bored Gen-Zers found something to keep themselves occupied.
Advert
And just three years later, who would have predicted that the popular social media platform would now be heading into our cars?
That is exactly what is happening later this year, as TikTok will be integrated with the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class that’s coming to market at the end of this year.
TikTok comes alongside a new operating system that Mercedes plans to launch in their next generation of vehicles, known as MB.OS.
Speaking on the announcement, a Mercedes-Benz spokesperson told Axios: "We were looking for apps that make an impact and wanted to discover this new innovative [Mercedes-Benz] user experience with us."
But TikTok is actually not the only app that is coming with the new Mercedes, with the likes of Zoom, Webex, Vivaldi and Angry Birds also coming.
Mercedes told Axios that they are in 'conversation with other partners' when asked about the possibility of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit appearing in the future.
Speaking about TikTok in Asia, Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius said: "It is highly, highly relevant.
"Let’s not forget that the average age of an S-Class owner in China is around or below 40 years old."
He added: "When we choose all these different apps, we go market by market or region by region.
"We look at what is the most used — music or film [and] so on — and we tried to go down that list."
TikTok will be accessible from the 'superscreen' that will span the entire dashboard of the Mercedes.
It will allow drivers to click on the TikTok app, scroll through their 'For You', and watch videos while parked.
Passengers will also be able to get involved with the fun, with a portion of the screen located directly in front of them, however, that screen will be unaccessible to the driver.
Mercedes added that a driver monitoring system is also be in place to track where the driver is looking.