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New Instant App Trend and What It Means for You!
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2021 is surely the years of new trends in the world of app development. With the increase in usage of mobile apps after the COVID-19 pandemic, developers are working around the clock to give users what they deserve – the best experience ever. For this, they need to come up with something new.
In 2016, Google launched its first instant app in Google’s I/O conference of developers. It was a hit then and it is a hit now. These apps have dramatically changed the way these apps are being managed and the way users interact with the software.
What are Instant Apps and How Do They Work?
Did you just hear about a new app? Want to download it and see what the hype is all about? Downloading apps hardly takes 2 minutes and you can easily install them and see how they work.
Didn’t like the app? Oops! Just hit the uninstall button and you are done. Even though this process does not take long, it does take a few minutes. How cool would it be if you could see a preview of the app before you go ahead and download it? Wouldn’t that be helpful and save you time?
Well, this is exactly what instant apps have to offer. Without downloading, you can see how they will function. There is a little preview and that lets you decide whether to download the app or not. Most of the games are already offering this feature and these apps have an excellent advertising potential in the gaming industry. With time, they are expected to expand to other industries too.
How Are They Different?
Apparently, there is no difference between an instant app and a normal app. They function, look and are the same. If you add an “instant” feature to your normal app, it will become an instant app. The only difference is that you don’t need to download it on your mobile to use a part of it. That’s about it!
A thing to remember is that you can’t get access to the entire app. No, it does not work that way. Just like a preview of a movie, the developers allow you to access a part of the app code. Usually, these are the salient features of the app that makes it stand out from the rest and hooks you on to the app so you end up downloading it.
Some of the big names which are providing these apps are ShareTheMeal app, BuzzFeed and Google store.
Advantages of Using Instant Apps
Previewing the app before use is not the only advantage that instant apps offer. Apart from this, they don’t need to waste time and effort in downloading an app that is not of any use to them. One-click is all that they need to try out the app.
- It works for people who don’t like to keep a lot of apps on their cellphones or get bored of older apps. Older apps keep on building up and draining the memory and battery of the mobile. For instance, if you are at a business meeting in another city for 2 days, you don’t need to install the local taxi app. You can use the instant app feature to call a cab and get over with it.
Small or large scale e-commerce businesses are benefiting from them. With an instant app, they can give their users an instant experience without having to search for the app for downloading. A demo will encourage them to use the app and can result in more download than a normal app will have. For this reason, mobile games, retail sites, real-estate websites and many more are turning to instant apps.
Google’s TRY NOW Button
Have you seen the TRY NOW button on the apps in Google’s Play Store? Sure, instant apps have been around since 2016, Google is taking it a notch higher. If you go on Google Play Store you will see a “TRY NOW” button with the INSTALL button.
Once you hit this button, a demo of the specific app launches. This can range between 5MB – 10MB. This shows you will get exposure to a good amount of app. Once you are done with the demo, you get a prompt notification for BUYING or DOWNLOADING the app.
Most of the games on Play Store support this feature of TRY NOW. You can easily play a few levels of the game and once you are into it, baam! Your trial is over. This technique prompts the players to go ahead and download the game as their interest is already built.
Now, you don’t need to waste time searching, downloading and then uninstalling an app if you don’t like it. Just hit the TRY NOW button, see whether you like it or not and proceed further.
AppOnBoard was the pioneer of this technology. Games such as Cookie Jam Blast already allow users to play a part of the game before downloading or buying it. Even games that have not been released yet like Looney Tunes World of Mayhem will allow you to play a small snippet before it actually releases.
How Are Instant Apps Developed?
When it comes to developing instant apps, the process does not differ much from the traditional ones. The only extra step is that the developers need to modularize the original app. This will allow the users to have instant access to only a particular code area of the entire app. This shows that the users don’t get access to a random section of the app but a pre-decided one.
If the app is already developed and in use, making an entirely new app is not needed. Customizing the app by refactoring the code is all that needs to be done.
Special Features of Instant Apps
These apps support OpenGL ES 2.0. This is an excellent API platform that is used for rendering 3D and 2D graphics. To keep the size of the app smaller and easy to download, the modules should not be bigger than 4 MB.
This puts some limitations on the developers. They can’t go ahead and include very heavy and high resolution videos and graphics in the app.
Security and safety is the utmost priority in any sort of app development. With instant apps, a little more caution needs to be exercised. Developers need to be male sure that a third party does not use the app for malicious purposes. A simple step of restricting the app from supporting any background services can curtail this problem. In this way, the app will not be able to send push notifications, change any device settings or even access the external storage or memory of the device without notifying or asking for permission from the user.
The only requirement is that you should have a 5.0 android phone to able to benefit from the feature of instant apps. There is nothing to install or uninstall. This shows that the feature will be available automatically for people with the 5.0 android or better versions. All you need to do is enable it in the following method.
The only drawback is that when it comes to games, many people just play the demo version and don’t go ahead and download it. This can result in loss of profits for the owners. But, the percentage of these people is quite low.
How Can You Enable Instant Apps?
- Click the little gear option
- Select “GOOGLE”
- Select “Instant Apps”
- Change off to “On”
- Confirm
How Can You Disable Instant Apps?
If you don’t like the instant app option for any reason, disabling it is very simple.
- Click the gear option
- Select settings under “Google”
- Select “Instant App”
- Click “None”
This is all that needs to be done. A few simple steps and you can enable and disable them.
Conclusion
Android Instant Apps are surely a technology breakthrough in the world of mobile apps. The level of convenience and ease they offer to the users is amazing. One click is all you need to see how well the app functions without even downloading it. Users will not have to go through the entire downloading process to see if they like the app or not. They can easily choose the “TRY NOW” feature on Google apps and see how they want to go about it.
On the other hand, this feature is beneficial for businessmen too. They have a better opportunity than before to advertise and promote their services and products to the users.
Because of the advantages and convenience being offered, we will be seeing a lot of instant apps in the future. If you are thinking of developing a new app, the best way to go about it is to make it an instant app. This will allow you to give potential customers a better experience and increase their chance of buying your product/service.
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