Ask HN: What Happened to Apple App Clips?
9 hours ago
Apple introduced App Clips in iOS 14 as a way to instantly use small parts of an app without installing the full application. The idea seemed compelling: low friction, fast launch, contextual entry points (QR, NFC, links).
Five years later, I almost never encounter App Clips in the wild and Google killed Instant Apps already.
- Are there notable apps or companies where App Clips are a meaningful acquisition or engagement channel?
- Did you already decide to remove your App Clip to reduce maintainability?
I believe the one I have seen a few times paying/ordering in the restaurants is Toast app.
I used to use App Clips for this fake cash app thing, so thats one thing lol
Is there any advantage over a small normal app?
There’s already a flow to download an app from a link or QR code, apps can be configured so they’re not added to the home screen, and apps are automatically deleted (“offloaded”) on low storage.
I think most use cases for App Clips are better served by simple web apps, which is why App Clips never really took off.
Follow up question: did anyone here implement app clips and saw any benefits for their app?
I was wondering about this too, early on I was looking to try out in apps but couldn’t find many.
Pretty sure partiful uses app clips in imessage
I've come across quite a few of them, especially for ordering food / drinks in "restaurants", theatres, sports venues etc. In that setting, they're superb.