Google Starts Live Testing Instant Apps on Android (zdnet.com)

Last year, Google previewed a new feature that would allow a user to try out an app without having to download and install it first. China's WeChat recently made the service live on its platform, but Google too hasn't forgotten about it. From a report: Google said it has started live testing of its Instant App initiative in a move that could make it easier for developers and companies to manage their mobile footprints. Developers will have to make their apps more modular to work with Instant Apps, but if you're an enterprise you have to watch this project closely. Here's why: With modular apps that are tied to the Web support, maintenance and updating could become easier. Instant Apps, which blend the app and mobile Web, could curb the need to support Android apps as heavily. Integration with the Web could provide a native experience yet lead to more up sell, subscription and data activity for companies.

Comments

Somewhat different, no permission to access system

[raymorris]

It does seem to be a similar concept, but the implementation differences are significant.

ActiveX "applets" are/were full Windows programs, which could do anything any other application could do. I wrote one which manipulated hardware buffers in the video card.

Android Instant Apps don't have access to storage, to other applications, etc. Like Javascript, they are much more restricted than ActiveX was.