Google’s new Mini-apps concept is old news in China

Search giant’s new feature appears similar to Tencent’s successful WeChat mini programs

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Google’s new Mini-apps concept is old news in China

Published: 9:54pm, 10 May 2019Updated: 9:04am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Have you ever scrolled past an app on your phone and wondered when you last opened it? You’re not alone.

The average American has more than 90 apps installed on their smartphone but only uses an average of 40 per month, according to a 2017 study by App Annie. Similarly, the average Chinese user downloads more than 100 apps but uses fewer than half of them.

Google is now experimenting with a solution that offers some of the best functions of an app without taking up all the phone storage. The concept called Mini-apps will be a new feature of Google Search and Google Assistant, according to VentureBeat.

This is how it works: Imagine you’re looking for an online class about machine learning. You type “Coursera machine learning” into Google search as you normally would.

But now, instead of showing you a list of links to the Coursera website, Google will display a carousel of cards at the top, letting you swipe through some of the most popular courses. Once you tap on the one you want, the card will reveal more details about the course and even allow you to sign up directly. This is all done without ever visiting the Coursera website.

In essence, Mini-apps aim to distill the best of the regular app experience while getting rid of the worst -- namely the hassle of visiting app stores and waiting for apps to download.

This isn’t the first time Google has experimented with the idea. Back in 2016, the search giant introduced an Android feature called Instant Apps, which are like small, single-purpose apps that don’t need to be downloaded from the Play Store.