Apple appears to be up to something very interesting with Safari and its support for Web apps on iPhones. It is working on features that seem to make such applications work a lot more like native apps.
This may be good news for any application publisher who wants to offer apps and services to Apple’s mobile platforms outside of the App Store.
What’s the story?
The recently reported changes in Safari 16.4 for iPad OS 16.4 and iOS 16.4 are both available in the first beta.
Safari gains more than 135 features in this release, including tempting sounding enhancements such as Import Maps, Media Queries, and more. But the real enhancements are around Home Screen web apps.
Now, iPhones have been able to add a website icon to their Home screen since the device first appeared. Those icons became Home Screen web apps, so you can summon the service with a tap, and it will operate just like any other app, separate from Safari.
During the first year of the iPhone’s existence, Apple adopted the position that all third-party apps on the device be web apps,; that changed when the App Store was born.
So, what’s new?
What’s new now is that Web Push support is being added to Home Screen web apps. This will let developers send push notifications to users via Push API, Notifications API, and Service Workers.
It might work like this: You are logged into a website that provides a service and you choose to make it a Home Screen Web app. Now that app/site can send you personal notifications concerning your service, such as when a new feature has been added or new products made available.
Just like elsewhere on mobile, users get to agree or reject permissions for these interactions. And those permissions can be managed on a per-app basis in Notification Settings, and handled by Apple’s Focus tool, so you can block out those you don’t want to hear from.
So, now we have web apps that work a lot more like iOS apps.
What else is new? A Badging API, so those…
2023-02-22 07:00:04
Article from www.computerworld.com
In recent years, Apple has been making great strides in enhancing web-based apps and software for use on iPhones and other Apple products. With Apple’s commitment to continually improving the user experience, more and more people are finding ways to integrate web applications into their daily lives. With an eye towards constant improvement, Apple has taken several steps to make web-based apps better for iPhone users.
First and foremost, Apple has implemented an optimized web-app browsing experience that works in tandem with iPhones and other Apple products. Apple has streamlined the layout of the most popular web-based apps, such as Facebook and Instagram, to make them more accessible and user-friendly when accessed on an iPhone. The layout is designed to offer a better experience for iPhone users and make the experience more enjoyable.
Apple has also paid particular attention to the speed of web-based apps for use on iPhone. Apple has increased the speed of web-based apps dramatically, so that these apps are now much faster and more responsive than ever before. The faster speeds have significantly improved the user experience and created an even greater convenience for users who rely on web-based apps in their daily lives.
Finally, Apple has provided iPhone users with improved security measures. When accessing web-based apps on their iPhone, users can now rest assured that their data is safe and secure. Apple has implemented their own two-step authentication process for all web-based apps, which greatly reduces the risk of data being accessed and compromised by outsiders.
Thanks to Apple’s ongoing commitment to improving the user experience for iPhone users, web-based apps have been made significantly better and more accessible. With the optimized browsing experience, increased speeds, and improved security, iPhone users are now able to take advantage of web-based applications and services with greater ease and convenience than ever before.