One of the best new Android features Google imagined was launched last year, on paper. The company unveiled Instant Apps at Google I/O 2016, a bold dream of running specific apps on phones and tablets without the user having to actually install them. But Google certainly took its time to deploy Instant Apps, and many people soon forgot it even exists. That’s probably why Google wants to remind Android fans and developers that no less than 500 million devices support Instant Apps.
Google revealed in a blog post on its Android developers site that more than half a billion users can theoretically use these Instant Apps. That number is likely meant to inspire more developers to support the feature. It also reaffirms the idea that Instant Apps isn’t a Nougat-or-higher feature. The feature is also available on devices that have not been updated to Android 7.0.
How many people actually use these Instant Apps or know what they are? That’s something Google doesn’t say.
However, Google adds that many apps and games businesses are developing support for Instant apps and offers a few examples, including Vimeo, Jet, NYTimes Crosswords, dotloop, Onefootball, and Realtor.com.
These are all apps that shouldn’t necessarily occupy any storage on your device, especially if you rock an older handset or tablet with limited available memory. They’re apps that you’d need for specific tasks. Jet lets you buy stuff, while Onefootball provides football live scores and results. With Instant Apps, you don’t have to install these apps to use the feature in an app-like format.
You can read more about Google’s Instant Apps at this link.
