App Store in danger? iOS is getting a major change that will support web apps

iOS is a fairly solid and simple operating system. Of course, even here, not all that glitters is gold. This is precisely why we may be missing, for example, some functions or options. Anyway, Apple is constantly working on its systems and brings new improvements year after year. Information has now even surfaced about an extremely interesting change that even has the potential to change the way we look at native and web applications. Apparently, the arrival of the so-called awaits us push notifications to iOS version of the Safari browser.

What are push notifications?

Before we get straight to the topic, let's briefly explain what push notifications actually are. Specifically, you can encounter them when working both on a computer/Mac and on your iPhone. Practically, this is any notification that you receive, or that "clunks" at you. On the phone, it can be, for example, an incoming message or e-mail, in desktop versions it is a notification about a new post on the subscribed website and the like.

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macOS Big Sur notification 2

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And it is precisely on the example of notifications from websites, i.e. directly for example from online magazines, that we can refer to this even now. If you activate notifications for your Mac or PC (Windows) with us at Jablíčkář, you know for sure that every time a new article is published, you will be notified of a new post in the notification center. And this is what will finally arrive in the iOS and iPadOS systems. Although the feature is not officially available yet, it has now been discovered in the beta version of iOS 15.4.1. So we shouldn't have to wait for it for a relatively long time.

Push notifications and PWAs

At first glance, it may seem that the arrival of a similar function in the form of push notifications for iOS does not bring any big change. But the opposite is true. It is necessary to look at the whole issue from a slightly wider angle, when you can notice that many companies and developers prefer to rely on web rather than native applications. In this case, we mean the so-called PWA, or progressive web applications, which have a huge advantage over native ones. It is not necessary to download and install them, as they are built directly within the web interface.

Although progressive web applications are not completely widespread in our region, they are receiving more and more attention worldwide, which will undoubtedly affect the situation in a few years. In addition, many companies and developers are already switching from native apps to PWAs. This brings huge benefits, for example in terms of speed or increase in conversion and impressions. Unfortunately, these apps are still missing something for apple users. Of course, we mean the mentioned push notifications, without which it simply cannot be done. But the way it looks, it's clearly looking forward to better times.

Is the App Store in danger?

If you are interested in the happenings around the apple company, then you have certainly not missed the dispute with the company Epic Games recently, which arose for one simple reason. Apple "forces" all developers to make all purchases within their applications and subscription payments through the App Store, for which the giant charges a "symbolic" 30%. Although most developers would have no problem incorporating another payment system into their apps, this is unfortunately not allowed in terms of the App Store terms. However, progressive web applications could mean a certain change.

After all, as Nvidia has already shown us with its GeForce NOW service – the browser seems quite possibly the solution. Apple does not allow applications in the App Store that are used to launch other applications, which therefore logically did not pass the control procedure. But the gaming giant solved it in its own way and made its cloud gaming service, GeForce NOW, available to iPhone and iPad users in the form of a web application. So it's definitely not impossible, and that's why it's also likely that other developers will try to take a similar approach. Of course, in this case, there is a huge difference between a cloud gaming service and a full-fledged application.

Another proof can be, for example, Starbucks. It offers a fairly solid PWA for the American market, through which you can order coffee and other drinks or food from the company's offer directly from the browser. In addition, the web application as such in this case is stable, fast and excellently optimized, which means that it is not even necessary to rely on payment via the App Store. So avoiding Apple App Store fees is quite possibly closer than we thought. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning that a fundamental change in the approach to native and web applications is unlikely to come in the near future, and some apps in this form will not even be completely suitable. However, as we already mentioned above, technology is moving forward at a rocket pace, and it is a question of how it will be in a few years.