Alphabet's Google unveiled a proof of concept service yesterday, at its annual developer conference in the US, called Android Instant Apps. The service will do away with the need to download apps.
The aim is to cut down on the space rarely used apps take up on smartphones. Instant Apps create an easier way for people to access a wider range of apps, seamlessly. They also load faster than traditional apps and mobile Web sites.
Developers will have to 'modularise' the code in their apps so that certain parts of it can be downloaded at a time.
Suresh Ganapathy, Android Instant Apps product manager, hopes Instant Apps will change how people experience Android apps.
"Android Instant Apps evolves Android apps to be able to run instantly, without requiring installation. With Instant Apps, a tap on a URL can open right in an Android app, even if the user doesn't have that app installed," explained Ganapathy in a blog post.
Instant Apps will be useful in situations where users only want to use a certain aspect of an app, for example when making a purchase or reading a review.
Ganapathy said developers will not need to build a new, separate app.
"It's the same Android APIs, the same project, the same source code. You'll simply update your existing Android app to take advantage of Instant Apps functionality...You modularise your app, and Google Play downloads only the parts that are needed, on the fly."
Ganapathy says this update will work for all Android devices that run Android Jelly Bean or later.
Playing catch-up
The Google I/O developer conference started yesterday and will run until Friday. The first day saw a series of new products launched by the tech giant, in both the software and hardware departments
Many of the announcements were similar to products and services already available from rival tech companies.
Google launch a virtual assistant similar to Amazon's Alexa, a messaging app similar to Facebook's Messenger and WhatsApp; a desktop device called Google Home mirroring Amazon's Echo capabilities; and a video-calling app called Duo, like Apple's FaceTime.
More information on Google's plans to double down on artificial intelligence and machine learning can be found here.
Google also said yesterday it would crowdsource name ideas for its next Android operating system. It has to start with the letter 'N'. While anyone can make a submission, the operating systems have traditionally been named after sweet treats. The current system is called Android Marshmallow.
People on social media did not think Google giving 'n-word' naming rights to the Internet was a good idea, as Reuters reported this morning.
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