Clubhouse app is now available on Android globally (including India)
What's the story
Popular voice-based social media app Clubhouse has finally made its way to Android. The app is available for download on the Google Play Store in India and around the world but users will still require an invite to sign up and participate. Clubhouse has chosen to retain its yacht-club style exclusivity although its iOS app has witnessed a dip in the number of downloads.
Promises
Clubhouse promised Android app would be available on May 21
Earlier this week, Clubhouse had announced that on the morning of May 21, its Android app would be available to users in India and Nigeria. It had tweeted that a global roll-out would commence later on the same day. The company has now announced that the Android version of the app would be available worldwide by the afternoon of May 21.
Twitter Post
Clubhouse's recent tweet announced the global roll-out on Android
Dear everyone, everywhere: @Android is officially live across the globe!
— Clubhouse (@Clubhouse) May 21, 2021
❤️👋
What’s Clubhouse?
Clubhouse lets users host and listen to discussion rooms
In a tweet earlier in the morning, Clubhouse said that the app is now available worldwide. For the uninitiated, Clubhouse is an audio-based social media app that allows few hosts to engage in live discussion rooms with guests, while a finite number of attendees can listen in. It's like live podcasts, but with invite-only access. The app's exclusivity contributed to its initial success.
Dropping downloads
Clubhouse replicated real-world interaction; Easing lockdowns could've led to decline
However, downloads for the Clubhouse app on iOS reportedly dropped from 42,000 in February to just 14,000 in April this year. The decline can be attributed to the pandemic-induced lockdowns being lifted around the world as countries like the US recovered. Clubhouse offers an experience resembling in-person interaction of like-minded individuals. This was partly rendered redundant once people could actually meet their friends again.
Redemption?
Launching on Android could revive the app's download count metric
At the start, the app used to be popular even with billionaires including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. However, lax moderation on Clubhouse led to the creation of rather pointless discussion rooms which drove users away. We believe that the Android launch could potentially revive Clubhouse's download count metric. Only time can tell.
Competition
Free-for-all: Big Tech Clubhouse clones could be more attractive, familiar
Clubhouse's audio-only concept was mimicked by Big Tech social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook, among many others. This contributed to a decline in the app's download count as well, since the alternatives weren't invite-only. That said, Clubhouse's exclusivity might just work wonders for it again since the curiosity to discover what lies in store might get the better of Android users.