Developers can now get cracking on those Android Instant Apps

During its developer conference in May, Google took Android Instant Apps out of the back burner when the company announced it would make available the tools necessary to make them. Fast forward to today, and the search giant updated the Instant Apps resources so developers can start to make them.

As a refresher, Instant Apps are not meant to replace full-fledged apps – they are lightweight versions of their native counterparts. Even so, Instant Apps offer similar experiences while taking up far less space on your device.

To get started on the conversion, Google lists eight steps necessary to make it happen: 1) develop a use case for your Instant App, 2) Prepare your app for conversion, 3) implement Android App Links, 4) verify app links, 5) build a simple Instant App, 6) plan the structure of your Instant App, 7) build and run your Instant App, and 8) test and distribute your Instant App.

At this point, however, we do not know how Instant Apps will affect Google Play. According to Google, Instant Apps are an effective onboarding tool for full apps and that their use will not affect Google Play install figures. It will be interesting to see if we get Instant App usage rates listed alongside Google Play install figures during future announcements, if only to see whether Google’s beliefs are true.