Scared of spending that 99 cents? Google may soon let you try apps before you buy them

Developers sometimes create free versions of their paid applications as a workaround for the lack of an app trial system on Android. Thankfully, it looks like Google is working on such a system, as reported by The Information.

According to the report, these trials won’t involve downloading
the apps in full, which is “something that could save people time and data-usage on their mobile phone plans as well as lead to more downloads.” In addition, it’s suggested that an app trial system would be useful in emerging markets, where people don’t have as much money to spend on app downloads as other people in different regions do. This is all according to “a person involved in the discussions about the technology.”

The alleged app trial system for Google Play would reportedly only give access to specific features, with the system having been worked on for more than a year. How such a system would be implemented is up in the air, though App.io comes to mind. The company created a service that allows developers to create usable HTML5 demo versions of their Android and iOS apps on the Web. The system could also be framed around streaming, though it might not work that great in emerging markets where Internet connections are already spotty.