Over the past few years, a service by Google has developed but has largely remained away from the mainstream. It is relatively still niche, in fact, that the feature is only accessible on select devices. Also, many app developers still do not support it.
But what is an instant app?
An instant app is a small software program currently available on some android devices which lets a user test fully-developed apps before downloading them.
The feature was first introduced in 2016 and could prove to be an invaluable feature once it goes mainstream. Just think of how much time and space you will save by simply clicking on a ‘Try it’ button on an app before clicking ‘download’. It would be a great convenience for many of us.
Furthermore, the feature would also help developers. See, many people often leave negative reviews on apps because of the effort and time it took to download, sign in and test the app only for it to be a disappointment. However, with Instant Apps, users would test apps and if they didn’t like them, they would simply move to test another. This would then reduce the likelihood of the user leaving a negative review.
Additionally, this feature would also weed out poor app developers as they would need to make compelling, well-working apps in order to compel the user to download it. Remember, in the app stores, the more downloads an app has, the higher it ranks in searches.
Thus, Instant Apps is a win for everyone.
That said, how do you check if your phone has instant apps built-in?
- Go to phone Settings.
- Scroll down and tap on Google and Preferences.
- You will be shown a Services
- Scroll down the Services and find Instant Apps.
- If you do not find the feature, then your phone is not among those supporting it.
- If you do find the feature, click on it, then tap the toggle on the top right to ON. It will bring you Terms of Service. Read through and select Yes, I’m in. This is one of two ways you can access instant apps.
The feature is touted by tech experts as one that will likely gain much more prominence from 2022 onwards and it can’t go mainstream soon enough!
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