Google taps Indonesia with a slimmed-down Search app (GOOGL, GOOG)

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Google is reportedly experimenting with a light version of its Search app in Indonesia, according to Android Police.

The stripped-down version of the Search app is optimized for use in areas with slow or low-quality mobile and internet connections — the app consumes less data and supports offline features — to enable faster and easier Google searches as well as access to other services, like translation, news, and weather.

The app also lets users perform both text and voice-driven searches. If it's successful in Indonesia, Google will likely roll out the app to other emerging markets.

This pared-down version of Google's Search app could help the US tech behemoth to establish mindshare in emerging markets, and help data- and space-conscientious consumers spend more time on their mobile devices. These efforts are important in regions like Indonesia because consumers there tend to be mobile-first, if not mobile-only.

Most of Indonesia’s internet activity is conducted via smartphone. Over 70% of Indonesia’s internet traffic originates from mobile devices. Indonesia’s mobile traffic grew 142% in 2016, and is projected to grow eightfold from 2016 to 2021, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53%, according to Cisco.
And smartphone-based internet connectivity will grow even further in the region, in line with increasing smartphone penetration. Indonesia's smartphone penetration has tripled from 14% in 2013 to 43% in 2016 according to Google, and still has plenty of room to grow. As this smartphone uptake continues, smartphones will help Indonesia to grow to the 4th largest market of internet users by 2020, according to a joint report from Google and Temasek.

Launching the slimmed-down Search app is just the latest effort by Google to cater to the specific needs of smartphone users in emerging markets. Consumers in emerging markets may lack access to good mobile service, and often have to navigate a mobile-first existence with low data caps and devices with inadequate memory.

Google has previously released products and services targeted toward these smartphone users — in April, it launched a data-friendly version of YouTube — and it will likely continue these efforts as “the next billion” come online for the first time via smartphones. The company is also rolling out Android Go, a low-data and budget-friendly version of Android smartphones, for developing markets. Other tech giants are also releasing slimmed-down versions of their apps: Facebook launched both Facebook Lite and Messenger Lite in emerging markets with great success — in February, the former hit over 200 million monthly active users. And WeChat, the most widely used chat app in China, is testing a new feature that lets users access mobile services and apps without having to download individual apps.

In 2009, Apple coined the phrase “there’s an app for that,” and within six years, its prophecy had been fulfilled.

Apps had become the primary way people navigate the internet, overtaking mobile and desktop web browsers. And now they account for the vast majority of time spent on mobile devices.

But, despite this dominance, an intensifying engagement crisis is putting the ecosystem at risk. App usage is consolidating and once they've tried an app, users mostly aren’t coming back for more.

This shift could usher in a "post-app" era, which could transform the way consumers access the internet and digital services. Mobile tech giants Apple, Facebook, and Google have each put in motion strategies that best ensure they emerge not only unscathed, but ahead of their competition. At stake is the dominance of an industry projected to reach $102 billion in value globally by 2020.

Laurie Baever, research associate for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has written a report on the end of apps that assesses the evolving app landscape, examines how the existing app model is threatened by the decline of broad app usage, profiles the promising new tech in the space across Apple, Facebook, and Google, and explores barriers standing in the way of user adoption.

To get the full report, subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now

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