Apple launched App Clips to big fanfare at WWDC 2020. “Let users get work done with a 10MB slice without downloading the full app.” Great idea. Five years on, App Clips never reached the adoption Apple hoped for. Why?
Here are the real use cases, the reasons App Clips are usually overkill, and the few scenarios where they genuinely earn their place.
Quick refresher: what App Clips are
App Clips are mini versions of your main app. Under 10MB, optimised for one task. The user opens one from an NFC tag, a QR code, a Safari banner, or Apple Maps. No App Store trip, get the job done in one shot.
The scenarios Apple showed at launch:
– Parking payment: scan a QR, pay, done
– Restaurant menu: tap an NFC tag, open the menu, order
– Scooter rental: scan a QR, unlock
– Event ticket: tap a URL, buy a ticket
The theory: less friction in the funnel, a quick interaction without a full install.
Why it never went mainstream
Apple’s pitch was strong, but on the ground there are three problems:
1. User awareness is low. How many regular users have even heard the term “App Clip”? Most don’t know the difference. They see the Safari banner and read it as “this app wants me to install it”.
2. NFC tag deployment is expensive. The theory: put NFC tags on restaurant tables and customers tap them. The reality: small businesses don’t have the ops to buy, print, place, and maintain those tags.
3. Development overhead is real. An App Clip is a sub-target of your main app, with a separate Xcode target, separate provisioning profile, and separate App Store Connect record. The 10MB limit forces aggressive optimisation. That’s a meaningful engineering investment.
Put all three together and App Clips only make sense for a narrow slice of use cases.
Three scenarios where they actually pay off
1. Payment tied to a physical location. Parking, EV charging, scooters, valet. The user is there, right now, and has to pay for something. Installing a full app doesn’t cross their mind. NFC or QR feels natural in that physical space.
2. Event attendees. Conferences, concerts, sports. Thousands of people in the entry line. An install slows everything down. An App Clip gets people through in five seconds.
3. High-friction, one-shot tasks. A job the user is doing once in a specific place and won’t do again. Downloading an app is absurd. App Clip is the perfect fit.
Scenarios where they don’t add value
1. E-commerce. If the customer is motivated enough to install your app, let them. They can open the App Clip they already have anyway.
2. Social media or content consumption. The user wants recurring engagement. An App Clip is a one-off screen.
3. Complex workflows. Under 10MB you’re feature-constrained. Multi-step forms get painful.
4. Long customer journeys. The user touches an App Clip once and forgets it. A full app has notifications and ongoing engagement.
Development notes
If you decide to build an App Clip:
Size limit: 10MB is tight. UIKit or SwiftUI? How many assets? Every kilobyte counts. Image asset optimisation, compiled asset catalog tricks, no dynamic frameworks.
Shared code: share with the main app through Swift Package Manager or an embedded framework. Careful: a shared framework adds to the clip size too, so balance matters.
App Clip experience URLs: one URL per experience, plus the associated domains entitlement. Apple validates the domain.
App Clip Code: NFC tag or Apple’s App Clip Code. Apple’s code design is familiar to users and beats a custom QR.
Notifications: an App Clip can send push notifications for eight hours after install. Then it’s cleaned up. No long-term engagement.
The alternative: Universal Link
In most scenarios a Universal Link covers the same ground. The user taps a URL. If the app is installed, the app opens. If not, the web page opens. If the web page is optimised for conversion, the install CTA lives there.
This approach:
– Minimal development overhead
– No 10MB ceiling
– Works for every user (pre-iOS, Android, etc.)
– SEO friendly
App Clip’s real advantage is the offline NFC/QR scenario. The physical moments where Universal Link can’t reach.
What I’ve actually done
I haven’t shipped an App Clip in any of the 12 apps in my portfolio. They’re all recurring-engagement products. The user comes back, gets notifications, upgrades to premium. App Clips don’t fit that model.
If I were running a restaurant chain or a valet parking service I’d take it seriously. Outside those, it’s overkill.
Decision criteria
Questions I ask when weighing an App Clip:
- Is the user in a specific physical place? (store, restaurant, event, parking lot)
- Is this a one-shot task or a recurring one? One-shot means App Clip.
- Do I have the NFC or QR deployment infrastructure?
- Can I deliver a meaningful experience in under 10MB?
- Does a Universal Link plus a good landing page solve the same problem?
If the last answer is yes, the App Clip is usually unnecessary.
Takeaway
App Clips are a powerful tool with a narrow surface area. Low user awareness, high development cost, a few specific use cases.
They make sense for offline payment or event entry. For general-purpose apps, Universal Link is the pragmatic choice. Decide based on product fit, not fashion.