4 ms·

Usually for proper push messaging and background processing

by JamesSwift 5y ago

jeroenhd 5y ago
Those have been part of the web standards for ages (serviceworkers, web notifications).
- azinman2 5y ago
  Web notifications don’t work on iOS and I’m assuming Android as well? Serviceworkers aren’t woken up in response to a background push if your phone is lock and not on that webpage.
  - drfuzzyness 5y ago
    From a user standpoint, Web Notifications work quite well on Android. When using Chrome for Android (Chromium), each site is assigned a separate Notification Channel so users can change notification priority or block notifications. Firefox for Android (Gecko) works similarly but without Notification Channels.
  - jeroenhd 5y ago
    Web notifications work fine on Android. Has Apple still not fixed notifications then? I was under the impression that they claimed to have massively improve Safari during last year's conference?
    - azinman2 5y ago
      AFAIK web notifications do not exist on iOS.
- Epskampie 5y ago
  Yeah, not supported on iOS.
  - Klonoar 5y ago
    Well, there was technically that iOS wallet/pass trick - dunno if it's been plugged tho. Otherwise, yeah.
- dnissley 5y ago
  https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Notifications_API/Using_the_Notifications_API#browser_compatibility https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Notificatio...
- querulous 5y ago
  not on mobile safari
  - JamesSwift 5y ago
    Right, and for those who aren't aware, that means not on any iOS browser since they all (are required to) use safari under the covers
- JamesSwift 5y ago
  OK, well iOS doesn't adhere to the standard, which means most of the US mobile device market does not support it.
- toast0 5y ago
  Correct me if I'm wrong (I'd actually love to be wrong), but browsers don't let you do silent pushes, and background data fetches are pretty limited, which makes it hard to do something where the phone gets updated frequently with non-urgent data, so that when you open the app/page, you have current data regardless of connectivity when you open the app, assuming you've got at least intermittent connectivity. Weather, headline news, sports scores, non-urgent messaging could really use silent push to get data synced whenever you want to use it, but clearly not with Safari on an iPhone, and I don't think you can do it on Android without an app either.
  - sagarm 5y ago
    Why the heck do you need to be constantly pushed headlines, sport scores, and non-urgent messages? Just make them load fast, so when you only use resources on the device when the app is actually in use. It's exactly this kind of wasteful resource usage and the accompanying notification spam that drives me to avoid native apps in the first place.
    - toast0 5y ago
      Because I want to use these things when I have no connectivity. And I don't always plan ahead for no connectivity. Given where I live, my big one is ferries. When I get on the ferry, it's a nice time to see what's going on in the world, and what the weather will be like, and maybe check work email (before I retired), but I can't do any of those in an online only world because cell coverage is very spotty. For the small handful of apps that manage a data store on the device, I can use those and catch up on things and queue outgoing messages. I'd like to make some more things for me, but native Android development is beyond my patience, and PWA doesn't have the capabilities, and some horrible blend of the two is what's wrong with today's world :p
    - JamesSwift 5y ago
      "Proper" app development treats the network as optional. Its surprising how spotty connectivity is in the real world, and so its a huge UX boost to load data predicatively when possible (not to mention that running offline-first is a magical experience for the user).

Usually for proper push messaging and background processing

jeroenhd 5y ago

Those have been part of the web standards for ages (serviceworkers, web notifications).

azinman2 5y ago
Web notifications don’t work on iOS and I’m assuming Android as well? Serviceworkers aren’t woken up in response to a background push if your phone is lock and not on that webpage.
- drfuzzyness 5y ago
  From a user standpoint, Web Notifications work quite well on Android. When using Chrome for Android (Chromium), each site is assigned a separate Notification Channel so users can change notification priority or block notifications. Firefox for Android (Gecko) works similarly but without Notification Channels.
- jeroenhd 5y ago
  Web notifications work fine on Android. Has Apple still not fixed notifications then? I was under the impression that they claimed to have massively improve Safari during last year's conference?
  - azinman2 5y ago
    AFAIK web notifications do not exist on iOS.
Epskampie 5y ago
Yeah, not supported on iOS.
- Klonoar 5y ago
  Well, there was technically that iOS wallet/pass trick - dunno if it's been plugged tho. Otherwise, yeah.
dnissley 5y ago
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Notifications_API/Using_the_Notifications_API#browser_compatibility https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Notificatio...
querulous 5y ago
not on mobile safari
- JamesSwift 5y ago
  Right, and for those who aren't aware, that means not on any iOS browser since they all (are required to) use safari under the covers
JamesSwift 5y ago
OK, well iOS doesn't adhere to the standard, which means most of the US mobile device market does not support it.
toast0 5y ago
Correct me if I'm wrong (I'd actually love to be wrong), but browsers don't let you do silent pushes, and background data fetches are pretty limited, which makes it hard to do something where the phone gets updated frequently with non-urgent data, so that when you open the app/page, you have current data regardless of connectivity when you open the app, assuming you've got at least intermittent connectivity. Weather, headline news, sports scores, non-urgent messaging could really use silent push to get data synced whenever you want to use it, but clearly not with Safari on an iPhone, and I don't think you can do it on Android without an app either.
- sagarm 5y ago
  Why the heck do you need to be constantly pushed headlines, sport scores, and non-urgent messages? Just make them load fast, so when you only use resources on the device when the app is actually in use. It's exactly this kind of wasteful resource usage and the accompanying notification spam that drives me to avoid native apps in the first place.
  - toast0 5y ago
    Because I want to use these things when I have no connectivity. And I don't always plan ahead for no connectivity. Given where I live, my big one is ferries. When I get on the ferry, it's a nice time to see what's going on in the world, and what the weather will be like, and maybe check work email (before I retired), but I can't do any of those in an online only world because cell coverage is very spotty. For the small handful of apps that manage a data store on the device, I can use those and catch up on things and queue outgoing messages. I'd like to make some more things for me, but native Android development is beyond my patience, and PWA doesn't have the capabilities, and some horrible blend of the two is what's wrong with today's world :p
  - JamesSwift 5y ago
    "Proper" app development treats the network as optional. Its surprising how spotty connectivity is in the real world, and so its a huge UX boost to load data predicatively when possible (not to mention that running offline-first is a magical experience for the user).