Google's Instant Apps hit a new milestone (GOOGL, GOOG)

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Google’s Android Instant Apps are now available on more than 500 million devices globally since launching in May 2017, according to Android Authority. First unveiled in May 2016, Instant Apps let developers highlight a single part of their app that users can launch from within Google Play without having to download the app. 

The technology is available only on Instant Apps-enabled devices running Android 6.0 or later. Google has been working hard to expand the number of supported devices and the accessibility of Instant Apps, and this milestone represents traction for the technology.

Android Instant Apps could help address several pain points associated with apps and the mobile experience:

• App engagement. Many apps are used for one-off interactions, meaning the time it takes to download, install, open, and login to apps can frustrate and deter users trying to complete simple tasks, limiting potential app engagement. Providing users with the option to use just the part of the app they want, partially addresses this issue and could help make the experience more useful, thereby increasing users’ willingness to engage. For example, since May, video-sharing app Vimeo noted a 130% uptick in session length, which it directly attributes to its Instant App.
• App visibility. App discovery and lack of visibility are problems that have long plagued developers. Rather than needing to amass downloads to climb app store rankings and gain visibility, app publishers and brands can promote their apps virtually anywhere by linking them to an Instant App URL, which can be shared on almost every platform, including social apps like Twitter, or in Google Search. Walmart-owned Jet, for instance, experienced a 27% increase in conversion rates since the launch of its Instant App.
• Limited smartphone storage space. Consumers often delete apps because they take up space on their phones, not because they don’t want them anymore. Forty-three percent of respondents in a study by Alligatortek said they delete apps to free up space on their phones, and 29% said it’s to reduce clutter. And few users re-download an app once it’s been deleted, further diminishing the app’s reach. Instant Apps don’t need to be downloaded, and therefore bypass this issue. 

Android Instant Apps present a major opportunity to connect brands and businesses with users, by providing a channel to reach consumers where they’re spending their time. For instance, although the vast majority of time spent on mobile is in-app, roughly 85% of that time is within just a handful of apps, primarily social media and messaging apps. Because Instant App links can be shared across multiple mediums, they offer businesses the ability to reach more consumers.

In 2009, Apple coined the phrase “there’s an app for that,” and within six years, its prophecy had been fulfilled.

Apps had become the primary way people navigate the internet, overtaking mobile and desktop web browsers. And now they account for the vast majority of time spent on mobile devices.

But, despite this dominance, an intensifying engagement crisis is putting the ecosystem at risk. App usage is consolidating and once they've tried an app, users mostly aren’t coming back for more.

This shift could usher in a "post-app" era, which could transform the way consumers access the internet and digital services. Mobile tech giants Apple, Facebook, and Google have each put in motion strategies that best ensure they emerge not only unscathed, but ahead of their competition. At stake is the dominance of an industry projected to reach $102 billion in value globally by 2020.

Laurie Baever, research associate for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has written a report on the end of apps that aassesses the evolving app landscape, examines how the existing app model is threatened by the decline of broad app usage, profiles the promising new tech in the space across Apple, Facebook, and Google, and explores barriers standing in the way of user adoption.

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