Google adds ‘try now’ button on Play Store listings to highlight Android Instant Apps

Google is adding a new “try now” button to Android apps in the Play Store that support the company’s Android Instant Apps feature. Instant Apps, first announced last year and opened to all developers back in May, let users immediately try out an app without having to download it. This is generally achieved by relying on deep linking between different areas of the app, similar to how one would navigate to specific parts of a website. The goal is to give users a quick, purposeful experience that falls somewhere between a full-fledged app and the clunkiness of the mobile web.

With “try now” prompts, Google says it will be clearer than ever which apps support the Instant Apps feature. And because of the tools released during the Google I/O conference earlier this year, more developers should be able to build robust Instant Apps, whereas before Google had only made a small handful available in trial runs. Those were also simulating full apps mostly through streaming, Google says, and new Instant Apps should offer an experience indistinguishable from the full version of the app.