Google Dreams of a World After Apps but It’s a Nightmare for Rivals

[Commentary] With one search algorithm tweak, Google rekindled deep-seated fears that it is doing its damnedest to nuke apps. Maybe. Google earns more money when people are on the mobile Web, not in apps. Publicly, the company has voiced support for solving the nagging problems of apps, discovery and dormancy.

Internally, however, chatter is less about crippling apps than imagining a world beyond them. Conversations with people inside and recently departed from Google reveal that the company is spending considerable attention on what comes after mobile apps, and how Google can usher that era in. A primary vehicle for doing so is app indexing and deep linking, methods to tie content within and between apps.