When Punit Kapoor, Software Engineer for Hereworks, was researching how to develop an instant app for react-native while developing our soon-to-be-launched new standalone feature of Hereworks Happy, he found he was unable to find resourceful articles or guides online. So he decided to write a guide to help those who will be taking on building a new instant app in the future.

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In doing so, he has provided invaluable insight into the different features of instant apps, their compatibility, installation and a detailed development guide that he has tried and tested.

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Instant App: Instant app is a new functionality provided by Android that allows users to use part of an app without downloading the whole application on their device.

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Let’s look at the key features of Android’s instant app:

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Use features without installing the app: One of the key features of instant app is that you can use parts of the app without installing the APK on your device. The number of downloads of your application will no longer be a deciding factor in the success of your app. With an instant app, there will be multiple entry points into your app.

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For example:

Previous way: Play Store → Install → Browse → Purchase.

With Instant App: URL → Browse → Purchase → Install?

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Highly Accessible: You can access the native Android experience of the app from any URL. For instance, users could scan a QR code or tap an NFC tag and be brought straight to the app clip, where they can interact with the app without ever having to download it. There are several apps and games that users have access to without having to download them to use them, such as the Google Play Games app, the Google Play Store, or a website banner.

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The instant app is compatible with Android devices running Android 6.0 (API level 23) and higher.

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Want to know more? You can find the complete guide here, where Punit provides all the knowledge needed to develop an instant app with react-native.

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