Twitter has been aboard the Spaces development train since December 2020, and hasn't shown any signs of stopping. The company's Clubhouse competitor is being built so quickly that it already has its own section now.
Twitter Redesigns Its App to Bring More Attention to Spaces
Twitter has started rolling out a new tab in its iOS app dedicated to Spaces, its audio chat room feature. Select users will find its blue sparkle right in the middle of the main navigation bar, between Search and Notifications.
It's also the only colored icon amongst its grey peers, meaning that Twitter really wants you to pay attention to it.
new feature alert 🎉 we want to make it as simple as possible to join the best, most relevant audio conversations every time you open Twitter. starting today, we will be testing a new way to find Spaces––we're adding a tab! pic.twitter.com/BJ5WoJB6wE
— Spaces (@TwitterSpaces) June 3, 2021
According to TechCrunch, the new "Spaces discovery" tab is only available to around 500 users at the time of writing—all of which were participants in the original Spaces beta test. As expected, within the tab is a showcase of Spaces being hosted by users you follow.
From that same screen, you can see details like a Space's name, who is hosting it, and how many people are in the Space. You can also manage your reminders (notifications for when scheduled Spaces are about to start), and give Twitter feedback regarding the type of Spaces you want to see.
The launch of the new tab doesn't affect the follower requirement to host a Space. You still need at least 600 followers to open up your own audio chat room on Twitter.
Some tech buffs might have known in advance that this feature was coming. App researcher Jane Manchun Wong tweeted an early screenshot of the Spaces tab the day before Twitter announced its addition via Spaces' updates account.
Wong delves into the code of popular apps to leak upcoming features before they officially release. She has accurately predicted new app developments on numerous occasions, such as Twitter's Tip Jar and subscription service known as "Twitter Blue."
Twitter Is Serious About Spaces
If you thought that Spaces was just Twitter's quick jab at Clubhouse, you couldn't be more wrong. The last few months have made things very clear: Twitter is all-in on its fighter in the battle to be the best platform to host an audio chat room.
That may soon prove to be the smart move, especially since Spaces appears to be developing at a much faster pace than Clubhouse.
What's more, the invitation-only app has had to build its userbase from the ground-up, as opposed to Twitter, which already had 186 million monetizable daily active users (according to Business of Apps) before it even started development on Spaces.
