Clubhouse launches on Android as downloads wane
Clubhouse finally released the Andriod version of its social audio app but the promising upstart is facing headwinds.
What’s going on: After more than a year of being iOS-only, Clubhouse plans to roll out its Android app first to the U.S., followed by other English-speaking countries and then the rest of the world. Android — which captures an 87 percent share of the global smartphone market — will open up Clubhouse to millions of new users.
“Today, we are thrilled to share that Clubhouse for Android will start rolling out in beta immediately. … Our plan 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 blog
Downloads in decline: Clubhouse boasted 13.4 million users in March, however, its new user growth has dropped precipitously in recent months. New downloads peaked in February at 9.6 million downloads but fell to 2.7 million in March and 900,000 in April, according to Sensor Tower.
Rankings slip: Clubhouse ranked as high as No. 21 in free apps on the Apple App Store in February. Now, it’s sunk to No. 595.
Product Hunt dud: Clubhouse launched its Android app on Product Hunt Sunday but failed to crack the top 3 products for the day and closed out at No. 5.
Head scratcher: Sundays are widely recognized as the least effective day for social media engagement — yet that's when Clubhouse chose to reveal its much-anticipated Android app. Combine that choice with the fact that Sunday, May 9, was also Mother’s Day, and one has to wonder about the announcement’s timing.
Disappointing numbers: Perhaps the announcement's timing was to maintain gradual adoption, an oversight, or the company doesn't really care. Whatever the case, it certainly muted potential fanfare from Andriod users that have been waiting months to use the app.
Remaining invite-only: Clubhouse said it’ll maintain its invite-only approach to keep its growth measured. As it scales through the Summer, Clubhouse plans to welcome millions of people in from the iOS waitlist, expand language support, and add more accessibility features.
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Short on time: Analysts fear that Clubhouse is running against the clock as more competitors launch rival audio products that offer users not only a familiar experience but also an existing following.
Meerkat déjà vu? In the Spring of 2015, the Internet was obsessed with the live-video app Meerkat, which was lauded by TechCrunch as “the live-streaming app Twitter should have built.” Similar to Clubhouse, Meerkat used an invite-only strategy, quickly attracted millions of users, and garnered significant interest from investors.
I was at the 2015 SXSW tech conference when Meerkat mania was burrowing into hearts and minds. Meerkat invites were highly sought after and everyone was talking about the app.
A few weeks later, Meerkat was exterminated by Twitter’s Periscope.
The lesson: Meerkat’s rise and fall is a glaring reminder that while companies can enjoy meteoric growth, they can fall just as fast. Being first and having novel technology does guarantee anything.
While Clubhouse is better funded and more popular than Meerkat ever was, the live-streaming industry is far more competitive with rivals ranging from Facebook and Twitter to Instagram and Reddit.
What do you think about Clubhouse’s future? Please share your thoughts below.
Well, perhaps the problem is that no everyone can actually download it on the Play store?
All I can do it "pre-register" it for automatic download on my Pixel 4 XL. That's it.
Maybe it's a regional thing. I'm based in Germany.
But while the whole "limited to iOS" created lots of fomo and buzz, I fail to come to grips with how many US-based companies fail to understand that the United States is an iOS bubble. Android, in all it's shapes and sizes, dominates market share globally. And when first-mover advantage is crucial, playing the "elite" game just doesn't cut it.