On App Streaming, Customer Ownership & Experience

Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote a piece on Re/code titled ‘The dynamically delivered future of mobile apps’. In it, I contemplated a world where app ‘ownership’ was de-emphasised, delivery of applications was automatic and transparent, and we would move between them freely, simply and often.

Last week, Google took a step in this direction with the announcement of app streaming in their mobile search results. In short, search results that are only available in an app will (with certain partners) link you to a virtual stream of the app in which you can see discovered content and in some cases purchase relevant items. Great, right? Well… kind of.

Streaming apps from the cloud

What does it mean to stream an app? Essentially, it means that there is an instance of the app running on a virtualized phone somewhere in the cloud — the screen output is being streamed to you as video and your touches are being sent back and simulated on the virtual phone. This technology started out as ‘playable game ads’ and ‘on-website previews’ of apps for marketing purposes. In both of these cases it was acknowledged as a lower-fidelity preview of the full experience and not intended for full-featured usage or purchase and checkout.

Okay, but why does that matter?

Think about the things that users love about native applications — responsive interactions, fluid animations and an experience augmented with rich environment and sensor information. Now think about the things that developers and brands love about mobile apps — a direct communication channel, a clear relationship (with the corresponding level of trust) and an app installed for customer retention and re-engagement. A streaming, virtualized app has none of these advantages for either party.

App Streaming is a solution that serves Google, not users or brands

The ‘App install’ is the ultimate cut-out for a service like Google. Google makes the introduction, then the user ‘goes direct’ from then-on. Streaming is their solution — they become the proxy (literally & metaphorically) and you never establish the direct recurring relationship with the app that’s providing the service. In doing so they diminish the user experience, marginalize the brand and re-establish the user’s reliance on Google to discover anything… where they then show them more ads.

Who did I buy that from, anyway?

This ties to an interesting topic that was raised at TAP Conference — the somewhat philosophical problem of ‘commerce ownership’. When I buy an item in a physical store, I know who I’m buying it from — I walked into their store that had a physical location and brand name, I have a receipt that acts as my proof of purchase and that I can hold on to. If something is wrong with the product, I go back to the store.

In the online world, these lines are becoming increasingly blurred. Take an Online Travel Agent — you book online through a portal, then receive email receipts from 1–4 brands that you may or may not have seen during the process as well as one from the OTA. I guarantee you that any of those companies that you email or call will each pass you on to another vendor and it’s completely unclear who has a responsibility to the consumer to service the purchase. I can see that challenge in App Streaming too — if I stream the app, checkout and then it just disappears, it’s unclear to me who I’ve purchased from and how I go about getting back in contact with the merchant. Google already has this problem with their on-page checkout shopping ads — users think they bought their sunglasses or hairdryer from Google, not from a third party.

App Streaming is about controlling users and serving ads

Google has an incredible position in the desktop world where they are the starting point for almost all actions. This allows them to serve a LOT of ads. In mobile, apps have meant that they’ve found it hard to capture this same position and app streaming is their attempt to teach users to discover content in apps through Google and thus claim the position at the beginning of every action in mobile too, in short, so that they can show us more ads.

Thanks Google, but brands don’t want to re-buy their users every time and users want to build meaningful relationships with their favorite apps and services.