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Byte will be the long-awaited follow-up to Vine, the former short video app sensation, its creator has confirmed. It was no secret that Dom... Byte to be launched in spring 2019 as Vine successor, reveals Dom Hofmann

Byte will be the long-awaited follow-up to Vine, the former short video app sensation, its creator has confirmed.

It was no secret that Dom Hofmann, entrepreneur and co-creator of Vine, had been working on a sequel to the app since it was shut down two years ago.

Originally it was to be known as V2, which even had its own dedicated fan forums springing up in 2017. However, in May of this year it was announced that this project would be postponed indefinitely.

Understandably many felt that it was all over after that, but Hofmann took to Twitter yesterday (Thursday November 8) to send Vine fans into scenes of celebration.

ā€œOur new looping video app is called Byte. Launching spring 2019ā€, he tweeted along with a photo of the new slick logo.

https://twitter.com/byte_app/status/1060637539030233090

He later tweeted again, confirming it was effectively V2 and also to promote Byteā€™s new Twitter, Instagram and web pages.

A tweet even came from Byte itself, a simple wave emoji which unleashed a sea of GIFs and engagements within moments. Byte now boasts 64.1K followers, at the time of typing.

Not much more is known about Byte at this stage. However, the internet community suggests we are likely to hear more in the near future. As The Verge reports, ā€œitā€™s just a relief to hear itā€™s actually happeningā€.

What was Vine all about?

Surely weā€™ve not forgotten those six-second videos, which created so many viral stars and memories, just yet?

But just in case ā€“ Vine allowed anyone to freely upload a short video which could then be shared across the internet. The BBC report that Vine was said to have 200 million users worldwide during its peak.

Vine was initially purchased, before its official launch, by Twitter in 2012. It was shut down roughly four years later, which led to a lot of disappointment, sharing of nostalgic moments and #RIPVine trending.

https://twitter.com/dhof/status/1060613118089445377

It helped launch the careers of many, including Shawn Mendes and Logan Paul, who have since moved to other platforms.

Some of the most popular Vines included an Australian news reporter being ā€˜attackedā€™ by a rooster and a young child going from being incredibly happy to breaking-down in tears during an interview.

However, its most-looped video was more serious. A short clip of an explosion being heard at the France and Germany football match, during the Paris attacks, had more than 750 million loops.

Will Byte be a success?

This is what everyone has been asking since the news broke. Some believe that it may struggle to get off the ground, due to TikTok. This rival short-video app, formerly known as Musica.ly, was become a hit.

There was always fear, even during Vine’s heyday, that other apps like Instagram would soon kill it off.

However, there has always been a lot of discussion and interest in Vine even in the last two years.

Also, if the reaction seen on social media since Hofmannā€™s announcement is anything to go by ā€“ thereā€™s definitely appetite out there.

Feature image credit: @dhof/Twitter