Everything You Should Know About Android Instant App

Android Instant Applications are a fantastic way to launch and let the world know about your native apps, without the user installing them priory.  Only parts of the app are downloaded and launched, giving the users a native look and feel in a couple of seconds as this technology provides the native experience of Android apps without actual installation.

When going for Android Instant App Development Services, your must make sure that your app has the instant-app feature, through which the users will see a “try-now” button beside the “install” button on the app details screen in the google play store. By clicking on the “try now” button, a virtual instant application is installed. These types of applications are opened through web links, and the user has the probability of experiencing the app before downloading it, in order to get an idea of whether the app is worth installing or not. This gives them visibility criteria which helps the users in deciding how much they want to use the application.

Android Instant Application is native web apps that perform tasks like websites, thus theoretically drawing more crowd towards it. The main idea behind Instant Apps is to make the native app experience convenient and reliable like surfing a website. Instant Apps are built to give an enriched, android native experience of an app integrated with the easiness, convenience, and low data usage of a mobile website.

The Top Challenges Addressed by Instant Apps includes:

1. Breaking Free From the Competition in the Segment:

The biggest challenge faced by many businesses is that they don’t experience relative growth in mobile applications. The number of downloads, installations, and users are likely to increase proportionately over time, but the basic necessity of occupying the leader’s spot and overtaking competitor’s applications down by your app getting highlighted in the number 1 position, don’t bets highlighted until and unless your application offers exclusive features and ultimate innovative technicalities. This is why Instant Apps are considered as a boon as it offers businesses the opportunity to break the shackles and win the competition within the segment.

2. Promotions of Applications in all Channels and Mediums:

The promotion of a regular app is generally restricted to a limited promotional field. Android instant apps gained popularity due to the opportunity to promote it through small modules as searchable components. The link to the app gets to be featured and promoted on multiple platforms, including social media, offering increased options for promoting the app. In other words, it helps the businesses gain better visibility and traction as a portion of instant apps get featured in different platforms which helps the businesses gain a high spot in the app store lists due to their app’s popularity.

3. High User Conversion Rates:

Users who found the instant highlighted features of your application as per their convenience and usability and perfectly aligned with their much-needed requirements and full needs are more likely to convert into full-time customers. Users who are not attracted enough to download an app are less likely to turn into customers, and this is where Android instant apps are the game-changer. Users find the lightweight options and less data consumption more convenient and hassle-free and are more likely to try their hands on the highlighted feature of your application which helps you drive and achieve your conversion rates.

4. Usage of Functions Without Eating Up the Storage Space:

The latest and updated versions of smart mobile phones available in the economy certainly have more computing ability and storage space. But generally, it is not compatible and practical to expect every user to have the latest smartphones! And even with the storage space, users might feel that high-quality visuals and media files are taking up most of their space. And when it comes to creating a space for smartphones and freeing up from the trash, it generally comes to uninstallations of the applications. With Android instant apps, your customers will not have the need to make any such difficult decisions and continue to use the functions without filling up storage space on the device.

Limitations of Android Instant Apps:

While Android instant apps may have introduced some new security concerns, there are weighted measures in place that assure your customers that they need not worry for the most part. All network traffic from inside the application will have to utilize HTTPS. Signing in will need to be handled by Smart Lock and users will be needed to grant their permission just as they do for installed apps. An app cannot start billing you or reading your contacts unless you say that it can.

Google’s Instant App FAQs page tells us that these apps can use the following permissions:

• Billing information
• Access coarse location
• Access fine location
• Access network state
• Camera
• Instant app foreground service (Only on Android O)
• Internet
• Read contact details(Only on Android O)
• Record audio
• Vibrate

Anything that is not listed (missing items like, Bluetooth, set alarm, use fingerprint, and set wallpaper) is not supported by Android Instant Apps.

Other limitations are like the lack of support for background services (apps that run potentially without the user’s knowledge), push notifications, accessing external storage, or for looking out at installed apps on a device. Instant apps won’t be able to change settings on the user’s device, such as their wallpaper, or fix up an alarm.

Best Practices To Incorporate

Android instant apps considered vogue as they are generating huge traffic and revenue, getting high ratings. But they are also introducing a pile of new challenges for designers and developers & they will need to make and implement a new design language and thinking pattern.

Google has shared some best practices. For example, developers need not aggressively urge users to install the full application. Developers can use an install button to prompt this but must do so in a subtle manner. Individual prompts should be limited to not more than two or three times. Also, businesses need to avoid branching their UI and they are certainly encouraged not to add splash screens to individual pages. Smart Lock should be used for identity verification to not have users continually log in and out of the applications and websites.

Examples of Android Instant Apps you can try

Instant Apps was announced in 2016 and here are the examples of the companies that have taken advantage of this great invention:

Skyscanner: Search for flights and hotel availability, access to cheap tickets, and accommodation and car rental bookings with an alert system.

Buzzfeed: Quiz, Tasty Food & Daily News: full access to the platform app.

Onefootball: Innovative Instant App from which you can gather information and statistics of the famous world football leagues.

Red Bull TV: Sports information and other activities.

Users while accessing the applications tab from their phones (in the Android store, search results), will generally see the “Test now” button, through which you will understand that the app is compatible with the operating system. When touched, the smartphone will have a screen to access all the functionalities of the application and thus decide whether it is worth installing or not.

Take the Assistance of our App Development Experts:

Android instant apps are the key differentiators which help your business gain the required traction and visibility after witnessing such pain in the app development process. It is the true value differentiator required in a market that is choking with the competition. Users get to see and use a component without having to download the whole app.

At Apptread, our quality-driven processes, technical prowess, and domain expertise together help us to offer our partners and prospects advanced & progressive solutions. Our Android App Development Company and Thought Leadership encompass a team of brilliant minds, who possess the experience and expertise to skillfully help clients decide on refactoring the apps and breaking down the functionalities into small modules.

Getting stuck in transforming your idea into a full-fledged application? Schedule a call with our experts at solutions@apptread.com