Google’s New Instant Apps Tool Lets You View App Content Without Downloading It
First announced at Google’s I/O developer conference in May last year, Instant Apps lets Android users access a section of an app, without actually downloading it.
Instant Apps was explained by Google’s Group Project Manager Ellie Powers using the following example: imagine a user is sent a link to a recipe from Buzzfeed Video’s “Tasty” app, but they don’t have the app installed.
With Instant Apps, the user will be able to open the link and view the content from within the (uninstalled) app.
And although they won’t gain full access to the platform, the user will be able to view what they wanted.
If they choose to, users can then download the full app from within Instant Apps, without having to exit and open the Google Play Store.
Instant Apps also works from within Google – for example, if someone wishes to purchase an item, they can do so from within the company’s app quickly and easily without needing to download it.
The new service is currently being rolled out as a trial on a number of Android devices and is available for BuzzFeed, Wish, Periscope and Viki.
Google has suggested that developers start to ready their apps in preparation for a full launch of the new service, which is coming soon.
More information and guidelines on how to prepare for the launch of Instant Apps can be found here.
Find out more about Instant Apps below:
