Ask HN: What Happened to Apple App Clips?

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?

4 points | by tomtec 1 hour ago

5 comments

  • armchairhacker 1 hour ago
    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.

  • gloxkiqcza 1 hour ago
    I think most use cases for App Clips are better served by simple web apps, which is why App Clips never really took off.
  • mattmark 1 hour ago
    Follow up question: did anyone here implement app clips and saw any benefits for their app?
  • zeristor 1 hour ago
    I was wondering about this too, early on I was looking to try out in apps but couldn’t find many.
  • keroro 1 hour ago
    Pretty sure partiful uses app clips in imessage