App Clips & Instant Apps

WebAR experiences built with Zapworks can be super-charged using Zappar’s App Clip and Instant App technology with the following benefits:

• High quality world tracking, leveraging the full hardware and built-in AR technologies of the device (such as ARKit and ARCore)
• Improved user experience (versus the web browser) including full screen, wake lock and rotation lock
• Optimized permissions dialog user flows
• Simpler and more consistent ability to play media, including audio and video

Zappar’s creative tooling and App Clip technologies enable these benefits without having to make any modifications to your content, and without end users having to install any apps.

What are App Clips and Instant Apps?

App Clips (on iOS) and Instant Apps (on Android) are operating system technologies that allow allow parts of a normal app to be launched by users without having to install the host app from the App Store or Google Play. This makes it possible to provide native app experiences to end users without the usual friction of app installation.

How does it work?

Without the App Clip

WebAR content built and published using Zapworks creative tooling (see below for compatibility) already works great in the browser. When the user uses a Zapworks project’s QR code or Redirect URL trigger, that project will launch in the user’s web browser.

Launching an experience via WebAR

With the App Clip

When the user scans a QR code or Redirect URL trigger that has the App Clip enabled, the user will be prompted to launch the experience in Zappar’s provided App Clip or Instant App (instead of the browser), enabling the super-charged user experience, without any app installation.

Launching an experience via App Clips or Instant Apps

Creative Tooling Compatibility

The following creative tools output content that can be super-charged with App Clips:

Tool	Compatibility
Mattercraft	Ensure your @zcomponent/zappar-three dependency is version 3.5.0 or later
Zapworks Designer	Enable App Clips upon preview or publish
Universal AR SDK	JavaScript - version 3.2.0 or later three.js - version 3.1.0-beta.9 or later React Three.js (React Three Fiber) - version 4.0.0-beta.6 or later Babylon.js - version 4.1.0-beta.4 or later

Getting Started

You can update the QR and redirect URL triggers for your Zapworks projects to launch in the App Clip or Instant App from their pages at my.zap.works.

Enable App Clip or Instant App support on the project Page

Mattercaft

In Mattercraft, the Live Preview pop-up provides an option that allows you to test your project in the App Clip as you’re working on it, with the full set of benefits of the Live Preview feature.

When you publish a project in Mattercraft that may benefit from being launched in the App Clip, Mattercraft will give you the option to automatically update your project’s triggers to use it.

Designer

Designer will automatically suggest enabling App Clips for projects containing a world tracked scene, but it’s worth noting, for projects only containing image or face tracking, regular WebAR is still your best bet.

Universal AR SDKs

When using one of our Universal AR SDKs, make sure that you are using an SDK version that’s compatible (see above), and that you’re hosting your project with Zapworks. You can update your project’s Zapworks triggers to launch in the App Clip from the project page at my.zap.works.