Convergence App clip and Instant app
With iOS 14, Apple has recently launched App clips, a light version of an app that can be used without installing it from the app store. Such a feature already exists on Android since 2017.
More than a try version of an app, they permit to be present with a smoothed experience in some specific situations and then enable new usages (eg : where previously the cost of installing the app were too high to provoke adoption). We can imagine cases where the user never wants to download the full app because he only needs it punctually or in these situations, eg : a museum app offering art description on QR code scanning. We rarely want to keep such apps once the visit finished, the app clip / instant app would then be the main usage and the full app could be used only by the content creator (a backing full app with a true usage is probably necessary as we can imagine that Apple or Google won’t accept to distribute a dummy app only for you to provide the instant experience).
The launch of this feature on iOS reopens new possibilities for apps that, until then, suffered from being able to offer the same experience on Android and iOS. But the working is a bit different on the 2 platforms, the points of contact with the users are not always the same.
Common points of contact on iOS and Android
- NFC tag
- QR code
- Link in Message app
Only Android
- from any apps with a URL (incl. web browser or a post from a social network like Facebook)
This permit to any apps to extend their features seamlessly by just pointing to the Instant app.
Only iOS
- from Maps (eg : booking a table following a restaurant search nearby)
- from recent app clips (instant apps still accessible on Android but in a non user-friendly way : Settings app > Application feature > instant app filter)
Solutions to these can be
- launch from a URL on iOS : a web page reproducing the same app experience (hiding browser bar)
- launch from recent app clips on Android : giving ways to the user to store the URL, eg : from the instant app, sending the URL by email or adding the URL to browser shortcuts
- from Google Maps : not possible for the moment, we can imagine the feature arriving soon if app clips integration on Apple Maps is a success
App clips and Instant apps are not only a way to promote a try version of an app but can be also an opportunity to extend an app features and even lead to new apps optimized for these points of contact with the user.
Having this possibility, now on both platforms, permits to offer a consolidated experience. The points of contact provided are not all the same but we can find fall-backs :
Additional note
The Huawei Store (AppGallery with 400 MM monthly active users) proposes also a similar feature called Quick Apps
References :
