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Really interesting news at this year’s WWDC 2020 conference (The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference) was the introduction of App Clips. It is an extension of apps that allow to get one step closer to users and at the same time make their lives a little easier.
How do App Clips work?
App Clips is an extension enabling quick access to basic functions offered by your app without the users having to download it whole. It is displayed in the form of a card on the lower half of the screen at the exact moment when some action is required, such as ordering a taxi, food, hotel reservation, product payment etc. At the same time, the whole application can be downloaded from the App Store via App Clips. Simply, comfortably, in a matter of seconds.
An App Clip can be launched by the user by clicking the URL link or by scanning a QR code or NFC tag. Other interesting ways include Safari App Banner or Maps, where App Clip connects to a specific place and displays a click-through option.
source: Apple
When the user scans or clicks the link, the system determines whether the application is installed or not. If yes, the application is launched. If not, an App Clip appears. One app can use App Clips for multiple functions, however, the number of screens within one “clip” should be as little as possible.
We should also mention that App Clips only work on the iOS 14 operating system, which is available for iPhone 6s and later.
source: Apple
App Clips Guidelines
- Focus on basic functions. Interactions with App Clips must be quick and easy. Keep more complex tasks for the application itself.
- Do not abuse App Clips for advertising. App Clips are designed to help people solve specific tasks.
- Focus on the ease of use, App Clips are not meant to include complex menu or settings. The number of screens should be as low as possible.
- Once launched, immediately direct the user to the action, for which the App Clip was created and skip unnecessary information and steps.
- Keep your App Clip as small and simple, as possible, reduce unnecessary codes. Avoid lengthy loading of additional data and never keep people waiting for App Clip to load.
- App Clips must be easy to share. If the user sends an App Clip link through a chat application, the recipient must easily open it.
- If an App Clip is used to pay for a product,the whole process should be as simple as possible. Enable people to load their address data from the system and consider connecting to Apple Pay.
- Avoid mandatory registration so people can perform the given action right away. Offer the option to create an account only after the action is completed.
- Maintain integrity with the design and functions of the original application, on which your App Clip is based.
source: Apple
Conclusion
Downloading new applications when we’re not sure if we really need them is a “big deal” for many people. App Clips solve this issue by allowing us to use essential functions and work as a sort of a window to peak into the whole app. The decision on whether we need to download the whole app is then much easier.
Even the implementation of App Clips itself (implemented within Xcode again) is not very complicated and time consuming. From our point of view, it is simply a great and convenient novelty, which will take your application and customer service to a higher level.
