Google Gives All Developers Access To Android Instant Apps SDK

Google has opened its Android Instant Apps software development kit (SDK) to all app developers.

At its Google I/O 2017 developers conference, the search giant noted that the SKD, which allows for the creations of app that can be launched instantly from tapping on an URL rather than downloading and installing it on an Android device, can be harnessed by developers outside of its select partners.

Apps in an instant

“To get started building an instant app, head over to developer.android.comand download the latest preview of Android Studio 3.0 and the Android Instant Apps SDK,” explained Jonathan Karmel, product manager at Google.

“You’ll continue to use a single codebase. Android Studio provides the tools you need to modularise your app so that features can be downloaded as needed. Every app is different, but we’ve seen with our early partners that with the latest tools, instant app development typically takes about 4-6 weeks.”

The move is good news for developers looking to flirt with the use of apps that bypass the need for installation, which could be used to ensure that users of said apps are more engaged in them, rather than needing to wait for a time sapping download and install process, complete with authorising any permissions an app may need to data and a phone’s features.

Instant apps also have a potential for software developers working for places where individual people will only visit a handful of times, say a museum or a theme park. Without the need to install an app on a smartphone, developers can create instant apps that compliment a person’s experience of the place they are visiting, serving up additional information in the moment rather than lingering on a device one the person has left the location.

Google appears to be pushing all manner of ways for developers to work better withing the Android ecosystem, as demonstrated with the features it had touted with Android O which is now in a public beta phase.

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