When Google demoed Android Nougat for the first time almost a year ago at Google I/O 2016, Instant Apps was one of the features that stood out, as a trick the iPhone didn’t have at the time and still doesn’t have now. But as hot as it may be, the feature wasn’t ready for public consumption when Google released the final Nougat build last year. However, things might change soon, as Google is apparently getting ready to enable it on devices running Android 7 as well as phones and tablets running older Android versions.
Instant Apps will let users enjoy instant app experiences on their smartphones without actually downloading a particular app for. Assuming it works as described, the feature will solve a bunch of problems.
First of all, it’ll help save storage on the phone, as you won’t have to keep an app installed just because you might have to use it every now and then. Secondly, you won’t have to buy an app to try it since developers will be able to offer a portion of an app to test for free. Finally, the Instant Apps features will work on most Android devices out there, not just Nougat-based ones, as it’s built on Google Play Services.
Looking at the code in the latest version of Google Play Store, 9to5Google discovered that Google might be getting ready to roll out Instant Apps. The code reveals that users will be able to enable or disable the feature and choose which Google account to use with an app.
Here’s Google’s demo of Instant Apps:
9to5Google also mentions several new features in the Google Play Store 7.8 update, including a Google Play app discovery service, a pre-registration rewards features for apps, and a new security branding for Verify Apps — that’s Play Protect.
