Clubhouse Audio Chat App About To Get Bigger; Android Version May Be Coming Soon

Clubhouse, the audio-only chat app, will soon roll out to Android phones, starting with beta tests.

Clubhouse launched on iOS and iPadOS last year as a voice-based social media app offering invite-only chatrooms. Android phone owners have been unable to join conversations, but based on a recent update, it appears all that will change soon.

Parent company Notion suggested in a blog post that Clubhouse may welcome more Android users soon, with a "rough beta" heading out to "a handful of friendly testers." This should be good news for folks who want to join discussions, but there is no definite date on when the company plans to execute it.

For those who may not know, the Clubhouse app gained popularity when celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Elon Musk and Tiffany Haddish started to used it and allowed other users to ask them questions directly.

The app lets users moderate their discussions and invite other members for interviews — yet another good way to make the most out of the current pandemic for information dissemination.

Clubhouse hired an Android developer in Mopewa Ogundipe to start the process, CNBC reported in February. And it appears progress has been made, with app co-founder Paul Davison revealing that the team was working hard to push the Android app version.

That March Townhall meeting raised expectations, with some speculating that Android phone owners may be able to use the Clubhouse app by May. But since the rough beta has yet to roll out, the unofficial timeline estimates of most are either June or July. Right now, it would be best to take these with a grain of salt until Notion releases an official statement on the release date.

For now, all folks can do is try other audio-only apps. There are programs like Twitter Spaces or Discord to check out for the time being.

Clubhouse could also be in for some tough competition with word that social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn and Spotify are coming up with their own apps for some healthy audio-only discussions soon.