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Google instant apps are not a new concept in the Android ecosystem.

The giant introduced the technology in 2015. Six years later, Android instant apps have gained popularity. However, many businesses still haven’t discovered the real power of such solutions and the benefits they can get.

Instant apps in Android are a type of native apps that don’t require installations to run. They combine the power of native applications and the accessibility of web apps.

At the first glance, instant applications look like traditional native applications. They are very different when it comes to their technical part.

Instant applications are created by turning some functionality of a native app into a standalone module. The rest of the application’s features are not available to users. They would need to download and install the whole native app to access it. As soon as users close an instant app, it disappears from their mobile device.

Users can access an instant app by following a URL. When Google Play receives a request for a URL, it looks up for an instant app that matches it. After it identifies such an app, Google Play sends the necessary code file to the user’s mobile device. The device automatically opens the file and runs the app. As soon as the user closes the app, it’s deleted from the smartphone.

Instant applications are often confused with another innovative technology – progressive web applications.

PWAs were also introduced by Google and combine features of native apps and web solutions. You can use them offline without the need to download the app.

There are a number of Android instant apps examples. You might have even used some of them in the past without suspecting that they have an instant app version. If you haven’t, you can check them out to see how the technology works in real life:

• NOS.nl – the leading news and sports company in the Netherlands uses Google Play Instant to generate more app installations.
• Vimeo – American video hosting and sharing platform managed to increase session duration by 130% with instant applications.
• Dotloop – a leading transaction platform increased engagement with Google instant apps by 62%.
• Strike Force – a game by Marvel that uses instant apps to increase the number of app installations.
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• an eCommerce application that attracts new customers with an instant app.

As you can see, instant app examples are numerous and can benefit companies from different business spheres. Jump to the next chapter of the article to learn how such solutions can benefit your business.

HOW TO CREATE AN INSTANT APP FOR ANDROID

Now that we successfully explored the benefits of instant apps, let’s find out how to create an instant app for Android from a technical point of view.

Do you already have a mobile application? You can turn it into an instant app in no time.

If you don’t have one, include this task in the list of all the tasks for your development team.

Instant app development is not difficult since developers don’t need to create a new codebase. They can use the existing code, API and project.

The image below demonstrates the key steps needed to create Android instant apps.

Let’s review each of them in more detail.

1. SDK INSTALLATION & ENVIRONMENT SETTING

The first step of instant app development comes down to accessing the Google Play Instant Development SDK. You can use this Android instant apps development SDK with Android Studio 6.0 and higher and an Android emulator that runs on Android 6.0 or higher. After you have set up an environment, you can move on to the next step.

2. CODE ADDITION TO A FEATURE MODULE

At this step, you will need to move the app’s code to the feature module. This action will create a minimal app module.

3. MODULE BUILDING

At this stage, you need to know which functionality you want your instant app to have. After you decide on the features, you will need to build the APK module. This action will turn the app’s functionality into a smearable feature module.

4. INSTANT APP MODULE CREATION

Use a single feature APK to create an instant app module. At this step, you will turn the app’s functionality into one that can be accessed as an instant application.

5. APP LINKS DEFINING

At the final stage of instant apps development, you need to create a relationship between a website and the app. Such a link will set up the instant app runtime. Users will use the URLs to launch your instant application on their mobile devices.

Now you know how to create an instant app for Android. As you can see, you need to have a sufficient level of technical knowledge to turn a native app into an instant one.

Learn more about Instant App Development.

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