Google and the future of applications

Last month Google announced a revolution in the app market: applications are now available on your smartphone without having to download them. How is this possible? Applications can be streamed from Google’s servers, and users can explore the app content directly on his smartphone without downloading it. For now, this feature is still in beta and only possible with a Wi-Fi Internet connection, in order to test the capabilities of app streaming. Among the beta testers, we can name the famous Hotel Tonight. For example, when performing a Google search on Android such as “Hotel in Chicago for tonight”, Google displays the content of the application Hotel Tonight, directly on Chrome. You can see the “Stream” feature below the ads Hotel Tonight. The content is exactly the same as if you had downloaded the application. What is the advantage of this new feature for Google? Nowadays apps account for 90% of time spent on mobile. But Google generates most of its mobile revenues through search requests on its mobile browser Google Chrome. So, if Google offers you the ability to “stream” the app on its browser, users will spend less time within applications and Google Chrome will get back a great part of the mobile traffic. Thus, streaming applications have a certain interest for Google. But, why is this good news for mobile users?

• A first insight of the app experience: streaming applications give users the opportunity to have a first and non-binding glance at the look & feel of the application.
• A solution to storage problems: approximately 70% of the storage space is occupied by infrequently used applications! Thanks to streaming apps, users will be able to remove from their phones all applications they barely use, so to gain considerable space.

An, what are the opportunities for publishers?

• Improved efficiency of advertising: Streaming provides a real taste of the experience before committing to download the application. App publishers will be able to produce interactive ads that are actually mini-versions of their apps themselves. These interactive ads are more engaging than animated interstitials or banners: after testing a first version of the app, people who ultimately download the app will be better targeted. App streaming will help developers overcome the difficulty to get an app downloaded and ultimately reduce acquisition costs.

• Avoiding app uninstalls: users often download and install applications they use maximum twice. Indeed, out of 35 installed applications, only 11 are used on a weekly basis, leaving the 24 other apps good candidates for uninstall. But uninstall makes your app going down the rankings. Streaming apps will allow users to actually use your app without affecting negatively your rankings.

About Julie Florin Julie is Addict Mobile Marketing Manager, the first 100% profit-oriented mobile media agency. With over 5 years experience, Addict Mobile provides mobile campaign management across the world: strategy, materials creation and localization, campaign optimization (pre-targeting, A / B testing, post-targeting) and real-time dashboard. Thanks to our technology, we are able to buy from more than 250 acquisition sources and ensure positive ROI. We currently manage $1+ million marketing budget monthly for international brands and top grossing applications. www.addict-mobile.com