It should be clear by now that there's much more at play in Android 4.4 KitKat that some early reports alluded to, and one of the most interesting (to me, anyway) tidbits managed to escape the early leak treatment.
Tucked away toward the tail-end of Google's Nexus 5/KitKat presentation was a mention of a feature called App Indexing that should get companies (and the Android app developers that work for them) a little worked up. That's because Google has worked up a way to deep-link to the contents of an app from within a user's Google search results with a feature it calls App Indexing.
Here's how it works. Let's say for instance that you're using KitKat's Google Search app to dig up some dirt on that Ender's Game movie that doesn't look very good. If you happen to have the IMDb app installed on your device while you search, you'll be treated to an info card in that results stream that includes an “Open in app” button. Give it a quick tap and the IMDb app will spring to life and immediately direct you to its Ender's Game listing.
Naturally, the feature isn't just limited to showing off movie details - so far the full list of supporters includes Allthecooks, AllTrails, Beautylish, Etsy, Expedia, Flixster, Healthtap, IMDB, Moviefone, Newegg (yes!), OpenTable, and Trulia.
The way Google sees it, the move is all about providing these companies with a choice. If they think their mobile interfaces are enough to keep users engaged, they can simple go about their business. But if they already have an Android app (or are in the process of building one) that can do a better job of engaging with its users, a little extra work to implement those deep links may be well worth it.
It's not hard to look at this a move to bolster Android app development either. Google's Sundar Pichai said very pointedly today that KitKat is meant to be a version of Android that reaches “the next billion people” because of its improved memory management and decreased OS overhead. That means that with any luck, huge swaths of the global Android community will be searching for stuff within KitKat and seeing those deep-linked “Open in app” buttons when they've got the right apps installed. Tell me that's not a compelling reason for a company to develop an Android app if they haven't already.
Despite the buy-in from all those app partners, I'd wager it'll be some time before the feature starts seeing more widespread support. Pichai noted that the ability to deep link within apps is one that has been built into the Nexus 5′s launcher itself, though another Googler was quick to exclaim that the feature would ultimately find its way into all KitKat-powered devices at some point.
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