You might remember Android Instant Apps from last year’s Google I/O, introduced as a new way to allow developers to create lightweight versions of Android apps that don’t require installation.
With Instant Apps, all a user needs to do is click a link in a web browser in order to be granted access to a certain part of an Android app. Back in January the first batch of Instant Apps including Buzzfeed, Periscope, Wish and Viki became available for testing purposes.
Now Google is making available the necessary tools for developers to start designing such apps. To make an Instant app, developers will need to create a modular platform compatible with deep links, so users can navigate to a particular section. Interested parties can check out the Android Developers website and download the Android Studio 3.0 preview and the Android Instant Apps SDK.
Instant Apps require Android 6.0 Marshmallow, although Google promised Android 5.0 support is coming soon.
Following Google’s announcement, one of the first Instant Apps to emerge is Triplt – a travel service that can now be accessed without users having to download the Triplt app on their phone.
Triptl can be used to organizes all travel plans in one place, so the Instant App could prove quite useful when making plans with a friend who doesn’t have Triptl on his/her smartphone.
Google also notes there are more than 50 new experiences available to try out form a variety of developers including HotPads, Jet, the New York Times, Vimeo and One Football.
