There are new Bluesky apps from popular developers of iOS applications in the works. Tapbots, the company behind the popular Ivory of Mastodon clients, born from previous efforts at Tweetbot (RIP), is preparing a new app called Phoenix, designed for Bluesky's growing social network with over 32 million users.
In a Bluesky post, the company shared its website while teasing the new app.
Tapbot made clear on its site that work on the Bluesky client does not mean that it abandons its efforts at Fediverse. However, Ivory's development will be temporarily slowed due to new initiatives underway.
Launched in 2023, Ivory has regained the look and feel of Tweetbot and some features to provide an alternative to large platforms such as Mastodon's official social app, open source, and X. Flipboards, and more.
Bluesky, on the other hand, is built on a different protocol that is the AT protocol (or Atproto for short).
Since Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter and conversion to X, many former Twitter users have moved to other networks, including Mastodon and Bluesky. For indie operations like Tapbots, it splits the customer base into two services, making it difficult to generate revenue with just one app.
“…We must support both in order to continue to thrive as a company,” Tapbot shares on its website. “Unfortunately, Mastodon alone won't survive.”
The company also explains that it has decided to launch a dedicated app for Bluesky users, rather than combining the two networks into one app. He added that anyone who wants to maintain a presence on both social networks can take advantage of planned cross-post capabilities.
Unfortunately for Mastodon users, the ivory work needs to be slower as the team is working on launching Phoenix.
“It would be a lie if I said that while I was trying to get Phoenix to work, Ivory would be fully developed,” the website explains. “But we didn't want to start Phoenix development until we released ivory v2.3. When Phoenix walks out the door, the development takes place at the same time, and both apps get all the major improvements they've planned across the app.”
News of the Phoenix launch was first reported by MacStories.
The company has not announced a monetization strategy for Phoenix, but it could be a subscription model for Ivory. This is a free app with in-app purchases to access premium features. Currently, ivory costs $1.99 a month or $14.99 a year.
Phoenix will enter a limited public alpha phase ahead of its summer 2025 launch.
