The long-awaited sequel to the short-form video app has just been launched. Dom Hofmann, the co-creator of Vine says the new app called Byte is now readily available on Android and iOS. Initially, the app was only available in beta form, with the launch coming as a complete surprise to many people.  Hofmann has been working on Byte on and off for a number of years after quitting Vine. However, the name should not be confused with Beijing-based Bytedance, the Chinese maker of TikTok.

TikTok is currently Byte’s biggest competitor as it has become one of the most explosively popular platforms ever created. In fact, it has gone on to take the short-form video mantle from Vine after Snapchat and Instagram developed into more ad-friendly and less teen-oriented platforms. Hofmann came up with the name Byte way back in 2015 while designing his next app. Unfortunately, it was a short lived creative app with a social component. This is despite the fact that it allowed users the chance of creating custom soundtracks to play over images and GIFs.

Nevertheless, Byte is now out and longtime fans of Vine will probably be happy to have something that resembles the short-lived defunct platform. We have to wait and see whether TikTok users are going to give Byte a chance. Furthermore, it is not yet clear whether the app can live up to the excitement of carrying on the Vine flame forward. In an interview, Hofmann said Byte will introduce a revenue-sharing mechanism aimed at helping creators get paid for their work when the app starts advertising. “We’re looking at all of those, but we’ll be starting with a revenue share + supplementing with our own funds.”

More information regarding the app is set to be made public very soon. In a series of tweets from the official Byte Twitter account, the company says “compensation creators is one important way we can support” both creativity and community.  For now we only have to wait for more information from the company in order to benefit from the app fully.