I like this. A lot.
We are seeing lots of bots as 'add-ons' to current messaging platforms, facebook, slack, kik etc - but Amity has 'add-ons' baked into the messaging app from day 1 (today!).
There are some useful AND playful things you can do inside the messenger. Reminds me of the iOS 10 iMessage Demo.
But with any product competing in the messaging space, it's going to be tough and there is the chicken and egg problem.
I like the social network feel to it but more closed than something like Facebook.
How are you planning on getting people to use Amity as their go-to messaging platform?
Is this designed specifically for a certain market?
And what are your favourite things you can do in Amity that you cannot do on other messaging apps very well?
P.S. I'm bentossell on Amity 😛
@bentossell the product looks awesome but I just see it being very very hard to become a new entrant into the messaging space without a clear value add for a specific demographic to use. Messaging network effects are hard because you need to somehow have your unique advantage be accessible without other users for a new user to invite their friends and then the experience must get substantially better with more friends to continue growth.
I wish the team best of luck in this hard space!
@bentossell Thanks Ben! You captured the essence of what we're building here at Amity. We believed it was important to come out on day one with a communication experience that's complete and actually exciting to use (rather than just pure utility).
We're very excited for everyone to try out Amity's live features, interactive messages, and fun one-touch actions, all of which allow people to 1) start conversations more easily and 2) provide more ways to interact with each other throughout the day (rather than just typing text).
Some favorites: photo requests (tap one button to ask for a photo from friends instead of sending one), Live Mode (where you can interact in real-time and feel present), and high fives (we need to celebrate more!).
@johnnychengx nice.
How do you plan on getting people to use this vs the other solutions out there?
As Chris put it below, people may need the 10x experience to get them to change whereas this is more like 1.2x - although it is nice and feels good to use, whats the big draw to get people using it?
@bentossell Our focus is really on creating an overall experience people can only get in Amity. We've also introduced a level of discoverability where users can find out new features, get surprised, and show their friends. What we've built for version 1.0 is also just the starting point. We have a lot more exciting things coming, and they will come out often :)
Haven't tried the product yet but the design looks seriously on point. My fear is this will become little more than a design concept for Messenger where the coolest features will be copied.. I mean.. "inspired by" :/ I think it would take a massive 10x experience to migrate users and this feels more like 1.2x which nonetheless should be applauded. Good luck team and I will definitely follow your progress
@cpresc Exactly my thoughts - I won't be surprised if the big guns start taking inspiration out of this. I haven't tried it yet but the experience looked amazing in the video.
Hello Product Hunt, and thanks to @chrismessina and @bentossell for helping us out!
For the past 2 years, our startup (8 engineers and designers) has been living in a house working hard in secret to build Amity – a complete messaging experience, with a new level of live interaction.
Communication is more than just words, yet the way we currently interact in existing messaging apps is nowhere close to what we experience in real-life. So we entered the house on day one with a mission to create a new communication experience that's more complete, more human, yet simple for anyone to use.
Today, we’re excited to finally launch Amity, and share it with the Product Hunt community!
Here is a highlight of the best features so far:
• Live Mode – when two or more people are on the screen at the same time, special features activate.
• Live emojis and live touch
• Interactive messages – a new category of fun, low friction, 2-way messages.
• Request messages – thinking of someone? Just tap one button to request photos, videos, and locations.
• High fives – celebrate small victories anytime with your friends.
• Everything in one place – send photos, videos, locations, voice, battery level, stickers, quick emojis, and more (without leaving the app).
• Beautiful photo filters – created by a team of world-class photographers.
• Group conversations – this is where it gets really interesting, especially with Live Mode and interactive messages...
• Made for everyone – easily add friends by username, mobile number, or searching nearby
• And much more.
You can download the app now on iOS and Android (beta).
(Note: The Android version has been released as a public beta. As a small team, we only have one (yet super awesome) Android developer, who is currently working hard to reach v1.0 for Android.)
We'd love to invite you to try out Amity, and get your feedback so we can make it the best experience possible!
P.S. Here is a Medium blog post about our story:
https://medium.com/@amityapp/int...
P.P.S. Pro tip for PH: You can drag the live emoji onto the screen for a surprise :)
I'm a huge fan of this product. I've been following it for some time and am extremely excited to see it out living in the public! Huge shout-out to @jcheng, @pestov, @johnnychengx, @kieranthetwit, and any other members of the team! I'm eager to see how it's interface and fun additions add to the experience. I really want them to include a incentivized program. It is undoubtedly necessary to capture an audience... and quickly before a couple, other platforms get HUGE full public revamps soon. Nevertheless, I'm eager to see how this moves forward! Great job!
P.S. I'm @as_austin on Amity!
The biggest problem with messaging apps like these on iOS vs. Android is that they can't interact with the default messaging layer.
I absolutely love the flexibility of 3rd party messaging apps when I use Android devices, but when I use iOS, I never stray from iMessage and Messenger (simply because i get Facebook messages and I can't see them in-app anymore), because diluting my contact pool over multiple apps is a frustrating experience in fragmentation. It's hard to maintain and makes communication clunky.
I understand that certain messaging apps are needed and have viable functionality, such as security or group offerings. But apps like these on iOS always have limited shelf life and appeal because they can't get natural mass adoption due to the iMessage walled garden.
Great looking product, guys, but on iOS you have a nearly impossible task of lasting conversion to make.
@stinhambo Well, not really, because they aren't accessing the message layer or having any real way to ingest it. These apps end up simply being things you can add into the content of the message itself.
Thoughts on messengers in general...
We've left the good path with them a while back, when everyone (not accusing Amity here) tried to be the next WhatsApp. That begins with phone number tie-in. I frequently am in six countries, using four SIM. Guess what happens, when I get a new phone and SIM from there? Yepp. While that might not be everyone's normality, going on a trip and buying a cheap local phone for Internet, is. Which is where WhatsApp fails, hope Amity doesn't.
WhatsApp also fails if you want to have it on multiple devices. As does Telegram and some others. I switch fluidly from my desktop to my laptop to my 12" to my 9" and my phone. I don't want to have go digging for my phone while I am in the middle of work on another device. WhatsApp fails. Hope Amity will get a real (not a canned Web version) desktop client, and can run on more than one device at the same time.
I'll definitely try it, but I guess that few of my friends will seriously consider it, if they have to have multiple accounts for each of their different SIM'd phones.
@legerdemain Yeah, we're with you on that one. Amity uses phone numbers for sign up and for connecting friends, however we're not an app that wants to tie you to a device or number. All you need is your username and password to be able to log in to another device. Building a great desktop experience is something we care about as well so it's on our roadmap!
@johnnychengx Looks really cool. Exactly what I think iMessage 10 and Allo is aiming for.
Do you support GIFs, because if you do I think we should talk.
@kieranthetwit@johnnychengx BTW, my mother's name is Amit, so if you join her name and the first letter of our last name, what will you get... BOOM! Amity :)
Great team & great product. @johnnychengx is an incredible founder and I can't wait to see where this platform is going in the future. All the best 🎉🎉🎉
I had an uncontrollable smile when I saw (and heard) the *high five* function. Have told my fiancée to download this and will try it out with her. Nice design, team!
On the design side the app is beautifully put together and all features added to it look really good. As many have already stated, will be interesting to see how it grows ina tight market for messaging solutions. Side note, might be useful to add a few screens during the sign-up process that describe the built in features. I went through it fairly quickly and don't remember really seeing that broken down. But excited to see where this goes! 🔥🔥🔥 I'm "Theeskipper" on Amity btw.
Some seriously dramatic video action there, with music to accompany the drama. Looks cool, but I feel like the market might be a little saturated and you're a little late to the party. Best of luck however. I always root for the newcomer and little guy.
Beautifully executed. Great end-to-end experience. Curious to see how this evolves. Looking forward to learning more about privacy and user policies. One to watch.
Replies
Makerpad
Panda
Makerpad
Amity
Makerpad
Amity
IssyBot Wordsearch
Amity
Weev
Amity
Roots: connect with nature
Roots: connect with nature
Amity
MyNFT.fyi
Amity
MyNFT.fyi
Good or Bad
Amity
Sikr
Amity
Amity
Amity
Tool Finder - Find Productivity Tools
Amity
Amity
Amity
Tailry
Amity