TikTok is expanding its desktop presence with significant updates aimed at competing directly with YouTube. The platform has introduced several new features to enhance the web-based experience for users.

Key desktop updates include:

• Modular layout for better content organization
• Enhanced For You feed
• New Explore tab
• Immersive full-screen option for livestreams
• Floating video player
• Collections feature for organizing favorite videos
• Horizontal viewing mode for game streaming

Game streamers can now broadcast in both portrait and landscape orientations, with desktop users seeing horizontal view by default. Mobile users can rotate their devices for horizontal viewing, positioning TikTok to compete with Twitch and YouTube in the gaming space.

The platform has also increased its video length limits from the original 15-60 seconds to 10 minutes, with tests ongoing for 60-minute uploads. This expansion reflects TikTok's strategy to challenge YouTube's dominance in long-form content.

"Our users interact with TikTok in many different ways," says Cody Puckett, Product Manager at TikTok. "By enhancing our desktop capabilities, we aim to bring TikTok's handheld magic on desktop, providing an engaging experience with greater flexibility."

While TikTok remains primarily mobile-focused, these desktop improvements demonstrate its commitment to expanding accessibility and competing with YouTube's 2.5 billion active users in the broader video consumption market.

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