After a year of exclusive availability to iOS users, Clubhouse finally launches its Android app, which is only available in the US for now
Clubhouse's long-awaited Android launch is finally here—Android users can now download the beta app from the Play Store. Although it's currently only available in the US, the app is expected to gradually roll out to the rest of the world.
The social audio platform was only exclusively available to iOS users from its launch over a year ago and quickly generated a lot of buzz, so it's not surprising that the top request from the community has been to launch an Android app.
Users not based in the US are still able to pre-register for access at the Clubhouse page in the Google Play store. They will then be notified when the Android app becomes available in their area. This Android roll-out won't be much different than its iOS counterpart though as the platform will remain invite-only for now "as a part of the effort to keep the growth measured".
"As we head into the summer and continue to scale out the backend, we plan to begin opening up even further, welcoming millions more people in from the iOS waitlist, expanding language support, and adding more accessibility features, so that people worldwide can experience Clubhouse in a way that feels native to them," said the Clubhouse team in their blog.
For now, the team's plan for its Android beta launch over the next few weeks is to "collect feedback from the community, fix any issues we see and work to add a few final features like payments and club creation before rolling it out more broadly".
Clubhouse quickly gained popularity when it first launched, attracting entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, celebrities and politicians. The "invite-only" aspect of the app provided a sense of closeness and intimacy compared to other social media platforms where almost anyone can sign up. Clubhouse is valued at about US$4 billion in its most recent funding round. Given the platform's popularity since its release, other social media companies have begun to roll out similar audio features such as Twitter's Spaces feature.