Right now when we want to access an app, we have to download it first. Granted there are web apps available, they typically aren’t as functional compared to the native ones on our phone. However what if in the future you won’t have to download apps, but instead just stream them from the cloud? That could be the future Google is envisioning.
According to a report from The Information (paywall) and subsequently confirmed by Google, the company is said to have acquired a company called Agawi back in 2014. The company specializes in mobile app streaming, thus giving the user the ability to use the app without needing to download or install it on their phones first.
Unfortunately it is unclear as to what Google has planned for the company. In a rather curt statement Google gave to TechCruch, “The Agawi team has joined Google. We aren’t sharing other details.” That being said given Agawi’s specialty, it does seem that app streaming could be on Google’s mind.
Given that right now a lot of things are streamed such as music, movies, and even video games, who’s to say that mobile apps won’t be next? Of course the downside is that it will require users to always have an internet connection, but perhaps it would be offered as an alternative as opposed to a replacement, but what say you?