What are App Clips?
An App Clip is a small part of an iOS app that lets someone use a specific feature instantly, without installing the full app. It launches from a link, QR code, NFC tag, or a place in Maps, runs a single focused task such as renting a scooter or ordering at a counter, and can hand off to the full app if the user decides to install it.
How App Clips work
An App Clip is built from the same project as the full app but is a separate, lightweight target that Apple keeps under a size limit so it loads quickly on demand. A user invokes it through an App Clip experience, such as a QR code or NFC tag, which presents an App Clip card with a short description and a button to open the clip. The clip downloads in the background, runs the task, and can use a limited set of capabilities. Because it shares code and a data approach with the full app, any progress a user makes can carry over if they install the complete version afterward.
What App Clips are good for
App Clips fit moments where asking someone to find and install a full app would lose them. Common cases include paying for parking, ordering food at a table, renting equipment, checking in, or trying a feature before committing. The value is removing friction: the user taps or scans, completes one job, and is done, with the option to keep the full app. They are less suited to deep, multi-feature experiences, which belong in the full app where there is no size limit.
App Clips and native iOS
App Clips are an Apple feature of native iOS apps, configured in the Xcode project and in App Store Connect, with their own card and invocation setup. AppFlight builds native Swift and SwiftUI apps, the same kind of project an App Clip attaches to, though an App Clip is configured as an additional target with its own requirements. Either way, the clip and the full app are reviewed by Apple together, so a submitted app is not the same as an approved one.
FAQ
How big can an App Clip be?
Apple caps the App Clip binary size so it stays fast to launch. Recent iOS versions allow a larger budget than the original limit, but an App Clip is still meant to be lightweight and load a single focused experience quickly.
Do users have to install anything to use an App Clip?
No, that is the point. The App Clip downloads and runs on demand without a full App Store install. If the user wants the complete app afterward, they can install it, and the App Clip can pass along their progress.
Does an App Clip need its own App Store review?
An App Clip is part of your app. It is submitted with the full app through App Store Connect and reviewed by Apple alongside it. It does have extra requirements, such as its own App Clip card and invocation setup.