Foursquare announces new app, new logo and more

Foursquare, the popular location-based social network, made a string of significant announcements today. Apparently the company has decided it’s time to move all check-in activity—its trademark feature—over to its Swarm client, and create an all-new application.
The new app, Foursquare says, will be all about ‘personalized local search.’ No two people will have the same experience, as it will be based on a number of factors including user taste, people they follow, and places they visit. Oh yeah, and there’s a whole new logo too…
From Foursquare’s blog post:

This means a few changes.
- First, starting tomorrow, we’re moving all check-ins to our new app, Swarm. Don’t worry; all your past check-ins, all your friends, all your photos, they’re all automatically in Swarm. Over three-quarters of you are already on the new app. (Thank you! And keep sending us feedback; we’re hustling on making improvements every day – get a preview of what’s next here) For everyone still using Foursquare to check in, you’ll need to download Swarm to keep checking in.

- Second, if you build a totally new app, you need a totally new logo. Our logo is changing from the check-in checkmark to something representing the new Foursquare. We designed it to be a mix of map pin and superhero emblem. We’ve always thought of Foursquare as giving you superpowers to explore your city, and our new logo reflects that vision. It’s coming soon to a homescreen near you.

And here’s a sneak preview of the new app:

Foursquare promises all of your previous check-ins and other history will still be available after the transition, and folks who have never used the service before will still benefit from the crowd-sourced data. In terms of a launch date, all it says is that it’s ‘coming soon.’

It seems like we’re entering into a new era of mobile apps and services, where companies like Foursquare—who has been around since 2009—are forced to either evolve, rebrand, get acquired or get left behind. It’ll be interesting to see how this new strategy plays out.

The current Foursquare app is still available in the App Store for free.