The Clubhouse Android app has finally rolled out and is now available for download worldwide. This comes months after the audio chat platform was launched on iOS. The popular app has created quite a buzz, with rival platforms introducing their own versions as well.
Clubhouse confirmed the arrival of its Android app through its official Twitter account. Similar to iOS, the Android app’s listing on Google Play Store also requires users to have a Clubhouse invite to sign up. To get the invite, you can either join the waitlist or ask for one from an existing user.
Once you get in, you can choose from various topics of interest like tech, business, books and others. The app also allows you to follow people and see which rooms they’re participating in. Clubhouse also takes into account your interests before recommending users and rooms you can follow or join. You have the option of leaving a room at any time, and you can also browse to see different conversations happening on Clubhouse.
The iOS version of Clubhouse was unveiled in March 2020 and soon became a hit. The app’s downloads in India, however, have substantially dropped from 42,000 in February 2021 to 14,000 in April 2021, according to Sensor Tower data.
Clubhouse’s Android launch comes at a time when rivals have launched their own version of audio chat platforms within their apps. Twitter recently made its live audio conversation app Spaces available for both Android and iOS users with more than 600 followers. This feature allows users to join virtual rooms where they can participate in real-time audio conversations with others. The company first started testing Spaces in December 2020.
Instant messaging app Telegram has released Voice Chats 2.0, which allows users to have live voice chat sessions with unlimited participants. Telegram also offers users the ability to record voice chats, a feature that’s not available in Clubhouse. Some features that it shares with Clubhouse include allowing other users in the room to raise their hand if they want to speak, invitational links and voice chat titles. Users can also remove forwarded messages and listen to voice messages from the point where users left off.
Facebook is also working on an app called Hotline, which is in the beta testing phase. This app lets users switch on their camera for video and also allows the host to take questions from listeners through text. It also has a feature where audiences can upvote to highlight the questions they want answered.