14 DAY TRIAL // This year's Google’s I/O keynote consisted of some important announcements, especially in the field of AI technology and visual recognition that would improve user experience on many Google products. But Google also launched the Android O beta program and made Instant Apps SDK available to all.
Android Assistant SDK was released not long ago and now Android Instant Apps follows suit. Google began testing Android Instant Apps earlier this year, after they were announced during last year’s Google I/O event.
Android Instant Apps allow users to run Android applications without having to install them beforehand. They can access information contained in an app, and then decide if they wish to install the application or simply browse to the next one.
Instant Apps is no longer limited to just a few developers
Google has also announced that there are currently more than 50 new experiences available for users to try out, from developers like Vimeo and One Football. It seems that users are highly interested in checking out Instant Apps, as developers like Jet and HotPads already saw double digit increases since integrating Instant Apps SDK into their apps.
The steps for integrating Instant Apps aren’t difficult. After downloading the latest preview of Android Studio 3.0 and Instant Apps SDK, developers will get the tools for modularizing their apps and distributing them. Instant Apps will be uploaded together with the installable APK for the application, directly on the Play Console.
Instant Apps will be fully supported in Google’s upcoming Android O version, which the tech giant said that it should arrive in late summer, but Google might have referred to the final Developer Preview, and not necessarily the stable version. In the past, Google released the final Android OS version with the latest Google smartphones, usually announced in the fall. That being said, Android O should make Instant Apps more appealing, since it allows for Instant Apps to be retrieved and launched directly from the launcher.