Clubhouse is one of the more popular apps to arrive in recent times, but it is still unavailable to download on Android devices. The audio-only app originally launched on iPhone back in 2020 and has remained only available on iOS since then. However, the company has now provided a slightly firmer date on when the Android app is due to be released.
Clubhouse is different to many other networking apps due to its focus on live audio conversations. In fact, the approach taken by Clubhouse has led to the likes of Instagram, Twitter and Facebook working on their own versions. In Twitter’s case, this is the new Spaces feature, and in spite of being newer, Spaces launched on Android before Clubhouse.
Previously, Clubhouse confirmed it was working on the Android app, but didn’t provide any firm details on when the launch would happen. However, in a townhall conversation on March 21, Clubhouse co-founder Paul Davison explained the Android app is 'a couple of months' away from launching. While that is not a firm indication of when it will release on Android, it does suggest the app development is moving along and could arrive as early as the second quarter of 2021. Davison provided the update while at the same time warning Android users that, in the meantime, they should avoid any Android apps claiming to be Clubhouse or offering access to the service.
Why Is The Clubhouse Android App Taking So Long?
Due to the greater level of control that Apple’s ecosystem offers, it is not uncommon for developers to focus on iOS over Android, and this can be particularly true for experimental apps. With Clubhouse, this appears to have been the case up until recently. When the company originally confirmed it was working on Android app support, the exact wording used suggested the team was just starting to develop the Android version. In other words, it is probably not so much that Android app development is taking so long, but more of an issue of the development process only having recently started.
Even when the Clubhouse Android app does launch, it is likely that the service will continue to use an invite system for the foreseeable future. Doing so will allow Clubhouse to continue to limit how many people are using the app while the team continues ironing out any bugs or performance issues that might affect the experience. In the same townhall conversation, Davison touched on this point by explaining how scaling too fast can prove to be problematic. Considering the number of potential users that opening the Android door will bring, Android device users may find they are still unable to sign up and use the service when it launches, without securing an invite first.
Source: Brian Penny/YouTube