Clubhouse to launch Android app

Clubhouse announced on Sunday that it will launch test version of its Android app in the. Downloads of the app have significantly fallen. On this background, android launch is being seen as a potential big expansion of its market.

The app, which spiked in popularity early this year after celebrity billionaire Elon Musk and others appeared in audio chats, has sparked copy cats from startups and larger rivals including Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc.

It has been available only to users of Apple devices and by invitation. In some markets such as China, invitations were so sought after some were auctioned on online marketplaces.

Downloads of the app peaked in February this year with 9.6 million downloads. The number fell to 2.7 million in March. In April, the number of downloads fell further to 900,000.

The drop in downloads raised questions whether Clubhouse's popularity was sustainable over the long-term.

The long-anticipated Android launch is expected to reach more new users globally. The Android app will be initially launched in the US. It will then reach other English-speaking markets and then the rest of the world and weeks after the US market beta launch.

Clubhouse, which created the category, now faces the likes of Facebook, whose CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in April a slew of audio products, including Clubhouse-style live audio rooms and a way for users to find and play podcasts.

In January, Twitter Inc said that it will introduce a new feature to let users charge admission to their live audio chat rooms in its "Spaces" feature, as the company seeks to court more content creators. It has been available to Android users since March.

(With inputs from agencies)