> Indeed, right now we're seeing a big uptick in Instant Apps on Android -- go to a webpage and it actually loads a native app -- and I fully expect the same to appear on iOS.
I'd never heard of this but I can guarantee I will immediately quit and never install an app that gets forced upon me via this method. This is like the terrible "Try our app!" web popups, only 10x worse.
I realize like most people on HN I'm hardly the norm when it comes to mobile users, but UGH.
Instant apps aren't installed, per se. They don't have homescreen icons, can't send notifications, access protected data, run background services, etc. However if you have an app that has a rich interface for some need, Google slices off the pertinent parts and can serve it up transparently.
I saw it for the first time last night. I think it was Vimeo. It was actually much better than the "try our app" popup, because it was android asking if i wanted to use the instant app, and when i said no it just went away.
I normally use firefox too, maybe I accidentally opened the link in chrome last night. I don't have my phone around to test. I just remember thinking "ahh that's kind of neat" before clicking no.
I'd never heard of this but I can guarantee I will immediately quit and never install an app that gets forced upon me via this method. This is like the terrible "Try our app!" web popups, only 10x worse.
I realize like most people on HN I'm hardly the norm when it comes to mobile users, but UGH.