app was launched in the US just under two weeks ago, having been available on iOS since April last year. Some have criticized the time it has taken Clubhouse to get its Android app rolled out, but the platform had never intended to grow as quickly as it has and, as result, it has faced a variety of other hurdles along the way that other startups may not have.
Clubhouse founders Paul Davison and Rohan Seth have said that when they began work on the service they intended to "collect , quietly iterate, and avoid making noise until we felt the product was ready for everyone." However, its popularity took off within tech circles and was then further boosted by appearances on the app by the likes of Bill Gates and Elon Musk. Davison and Seth have subsequently said that the company has struggled at times to keep up with its pace of growth, while it has also to deal with security issues involving China and data privacy concerns in Europe.
Launching an Android version of the Clubhouse app has been a stated priority of the platform. This has perhaps become more important since it closed a round of funding that valued it at a reported $4 billion while its numbers slumped dramatically between February and April this year. The Android app finally emerged in testing early this month and was rolled out more broadly over the following weeks. In a tweet on Thursday evening, Clubhouse announced that the Android was now available "officially live across the globe!" Ironically, after the wait for it, the Android app's worldwide roll-out was actually completed sooner than the Friday deadline that had been given.
What's Next For Clubhouse
Although Clubhouse's Android app has now been launched around the world, there is still work to do on adding all the features to it that are available in the iOS version. Soon, though, the company will no doubt be keen to begin rolling out updates to the two simultaneously — or at least within close proximity of each other.
Nonetheless, the focus will shift to elsewhere somewhat. In a recent update, Clubhouse advised that it had stabilized its infrastructure, acknowledging it was "no secret that our servers have struggled a bit these past few months." Now, it should be more a matter of scaling its technology and infrastructure to help grow numbers and improve the experience. The need for Clubhouse to scale its teams for international growth and, accordingly, to invest in localization and accessibility features has also been cited.
Ensuring there is plenty of quality on the platform is also now a priority, as this will drive uptake and retention. Clubhouse has outlined plans to launch more programs like the Creator First accelerator, which should help with this. On the other side of that same coin is the need for s to be able to discover great content that is relevant to them and this is another area Clubhouse says it is investing heavily in.
Finally, Clubhouse has also outlined its intention to scale its and community health teams to ensure safety and inclusivity. With this in mind, it says it is "continuing to invest in advanced tools to detect and prevent abuse, and increasing the features and training resources available to s."
Source: Clubhouse/Twitter, Clubhouse 1, 2