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I'm willing to go as far as to say it's The one feature that's singlehandedly holding back PWAs entirely. Most apps that you use every day needs notifications f

I'm willing to go as far as to say it's The one feature that's singlehandedly holding back PWAs entirely. Most apps that you use every day needs notifications for one reason another, mainly communication apps, and if you could do them with a web app it'd be a game changer. But Apple is holding us all back and has been for years.

millstone 6y ago
I don't understand why Apple is holding anyone back. Just build an app that doesn't work on iOS. There's lots of apps exclusive to iOS and Mac - why not exclusive Android? If the app really is a game changer, if it's that compelling, Apple will absolutely change its tune.
- Leherenn 6y ago
  Because any app that is social in nature (where interactions between users is required really) that can only reach 50% of users does not have 50% of the potential value, it's closer to 0. As an example, my girlfriend's a nurse, and they have a really bad paging system. Basically, the doctor calls the hospital reception who calls one person who is on call, who calls the second person on call. Of course, this breaks up regularly: the wrong person is called, or they call their boss because they don't know who is on call, and so on. I thought I would do a PWA to help them out and learn some new things, but it's pretty much impossible on iOS. Now, if 50% of her team cannot use the app, it has no value. You would have to know who has the app or not and call the other ones. It's easier to just keep on calling directly.
  - oarsinsync 6y ago
    > Because any app that is social in nature (where interactions between users is required really) that can only reach 50% of users does not have 50% of the potential value, it's closer to 0. This wasn’t true 10 years ago when Instagram launched, and was iPhone only for a considerable time. Clubhouse seems to think it’s not true today either, also iPhone only.
    - JumpCrisscross 6y ago
      > 10 years ago when Instagram launched, and was iPhone only for a considerable time iPhone users are, on average, higher earners than the median American [1]. Being iOS only means you get the vast majority of high-income Americans. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/195006/percentage-of-us-smartphone-owners-by-household-income/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/195006/percentage-of-us-...
  - wruza 6y ago
    The issue is not very clear to me, but usually people create a group chat for that and simply turn notifications off when not “on call”. Whatsapp, telegram, signal, discord, mailing list, whatever fits more. For automation chat/email bots may be used. Chances are it’s already solved, if you take wider than “PWA or nothing”.
dwaite 6y ago
If it is a progressive web app, then it should abide by progressive enhancement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_enhancement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_enhancement . So no, lack of push notifications are not holding back PWAs. They are holding back web developers which choose to aggressively require new features, then get upset when they only work in the browser they tested with (invariably Chrome).
smoe 6y ago
Pretty much none of the apps, native or web I use regularly, need notifications in order to do what I want them to do. It is usually the makers of said apps that really really want notifications as a strategy to increase engagement. I’m not against web notifications per se, but I’m not buying that most web applications are held back because notifications are actually crucial to them functioning.

millstone 6y ago

I don't understand why Apple is holding anyone back. Just build an app that doesn't work on iOS. There's lots of apps exclusive to iOS and Mac - why not exclusive Android? If the app really is a game changer, if it's that compelling, Apple will absolutely change its tune.

Leherenn 6y ago
Because any app that is social in nature (where interactions between users is required really) that can only reach 50% of users does not have 50% of the potential value, it's closer to 0. As an example, my girlfriend's a nurse, and they have a really bad paging system. Basically, the doctor calls the hospital reception who calls one person who is on call, who calls the second person on call. Of course, this breaks up regularly: the wrong person is called, or they call their boss because they don't know who is on call, and so on. I thought I would do a PWA to help them out and learn some new things, but it's pretty much impossible on iOS. Now, if 50% of her team cannot use the app, it has no value. You would have to know who has the app or not and call the other ones. It's easier to just keep on calling directly.
- oarsinsync 6y ago
  > Because any app that is social in nature (where interactions between users is required really) that can only reach 50% of users does not have 50% of the potential value, it's closer to 0. This wasn’t true 10 years ago when Instagram launched, and was iPhone only for a considerable time. Clubhouse seems to think it’s not true today either, also iPhone only.
  - JumpCrisscross 6y ago
    > 10 years ago when Instagram launched, and was iPhone only for a considerable time iPhone users are, on average, higher earners than the median American [1]. Being iOS only means you get the vast majority of high-income Americans. [1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/195006/percentage-of-us-smartphone-owners-by-household-income/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/195006/percentage-of-us-...
- wruza 6y ago
  The issue is not very clear to me, but usually people create a group chat for that and simply turn notifications off when not “on call”. Whatsapp, telegram, signal, discord, mailing list, whatever fits more. For automation chat/email bots may be used. Chances are it’s already solved, if you take wider than “PWA or nothing”.

dwaite 6y ago

If it is a progressive web app, then it should abide by progressive enhancement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_enhancement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_enhancement . So no, lack of push notifications are not holding back PWAs. They are holding back web developers which choose to aggressively require new features, then get upset when they only work in the browser they tested with (invariably Chrome).

smoe 6y ago

Pretty much none of the apps, native or web I use regularly, need notifications in order to do what I want them to do. It is usually the makers of said apps that really really want notifications as a strategy to increase engagement. I’m not against web notifications per se, but I’m not buying that most web applications are held back because notifications are actually crucial to them functioning.