Google obviously wants Chrome web apps to do better, and it has made a number of changes recently which are geared towards increasing usage of such apps. The Chrome browser received in-app payments support, an app launcher as well as rich notifications and soon the browser might get another feature which would allow users to try Chrome web apps without needing to install them. The Chromium team has been working on “ephemeral” apps, basically apps that can be launched by just clicking on a hyperlink.
The way this feature would work is that the Chrome Web Store results will include a “Launch” button, clicking on which would launch said app without having to install it in the Chrome web browser. A launch prompt will be displayed if the app has any permission warnings, and if it does not, then the app would launch immediately. The links for ephemeral apps will only be shown on Google search results page, and users will be able to launch apps by just clicking on the hyperlinks. New features are initially tested out in the Chromium open source web browser project before they are rolled out in a stable Chrome build, and while its possible that the feature might never make the cut, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if it ultimately does.