Amazon Web Services announced a service called AppStream, enabling developers to “build high-fidelity, graphically rich applications that run on a wide variety of devices, start instantly, and have access to all of the compute and storage resources of the AWS Cloud”.

AppStream hosts and runs server side application code in the Amazon cloud, coupled with a client-side app for “the desktop or mobile device of [user] choice”. With the heavy-lifting done using Amazon’s EC2 infrastructure, the client app can be “a simple, lightweight gateway or bridge that’s quick to download and requires a modest amount of local storage”.

In a blog post, Amazon Web Services said that the service will enable developers to “build complex applications that run from simple devices”, without being constrained by compute power, storage, or graphical rendering capabilities of the device – which can particularly be an issue for mobile devices.

With the application logic and database access running in the cloud, developers can support additional device types by “simply creating additional client applications”.

Developers’ proprietary code remains in the cloud, “where it is easy to update, safe from tampering, and resistant to theft”. Apps will start instantly, “without the delays inherent in downloading and installing a native application”.

Amazon AppStream is available now “in limited preview fashion”.