Technology
A new Bluesky application is currently being developed by a well-known iOS app creator. Tapbots, the firm behind the widely-used Mastodon client Ivory, which emerged from its previous work with Tweetbot (RIP), is preparing to launch a new application named Phoenix, aimed at Bluesky’s expanding social network of over 32 million users.
In a post on Bluesky, the company revealed its website hinting at the upcoming app, which is expected to debut later this summer.
On its website, Tapbots emphasized that developing a Bluesky client does not imply it will cease its activities within the fediverse, also referred to as the original social web. However, progress on Ivory will temporarily slow down as new projects are initiated.
Ivory,which debuted in 2023,brought back Tweetbot’s look and feel along with several features to offer an option to Mastodon’s official social application—a decentralized open-source substitute for larger platforms like X.As a federated application, Ivory utilizes ActivityPub—the protocol that supports numerous federated social applications including not just Mastodon but also PeerTube, Pixelfed, Meta’s Threads, Flipboard and more.
Conversely ,Bluesky operates on an entirely different protocol known as AT Protocol (or atproto for short).
Following Twitter’s acquisition by Elon Musk and its rebranding into X , many former Twitter users have transitioned to other platforms such as Mastodon and Bluesky. For an independent entity like Tapbots , this resulted in their user base being divided between two services , complicating revenue generation with just one app .& ldquo ; & hellip ; To ensure our continued success as a business ,we must support both & rdquo ; Tapbots stated on their site. & ldquo ; Sadly , we cannot survive solely on Mastodon . & rdquo ; The company further explained that it opted to create a separate app for Bluesky users rather than merging both networks into one because this would provide users with an enhanced experience. users wishing to maintain profiles on both networks will benefit from an anticipated cross-posting feature they mentioned. Regrettably for Mastodon enthusiasts , development of Ivory will need to decelerate while efforts are focused on launching Phoenix .& ldquo ; It would be misleading if we claimed that Ivory could remain in full development while we aim to get Phoenix operational & rdquo ; explains their website.& ldquo; However , we did not want to initiate Phoenix’s development until after releasing Ivory v2.3. Once Phoenix launches successfully , development will proceed concurrently for both apps ensuring they receive all significant upgrades planned throughout their lifecycle.”
The proclamation regarding Phoenix’s release was initially reported by MacStories .
While the company hasn’t disclosed any monetization plans for Phoenix yet,it likely follows similar subscription models like those of Ivory—a free app featuring in-app purchases granting access topremium functionalities.Currently,Ivory costs $1.99 monthly or $14.99 annually.
Phoenix is setto enter alimited public alpha stage before its summer releasein2025.
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