What Makes PWA a Great Option for iOS Despite the Platform Limitations?
Published: 2020-12-07 12:47:05

Most of you must be aware of PWA, which is a perfect blend between native mobile apps and websites and offers similar functionalities as native apps. Without the need of going through the long installation process of the app, PWA can be loaded with just a push of a button from the user’s mobile homepage. The service workers in PWA enable them to provide the best of both web and mobile native apps. The best thing about these apps is they have cache mechanisms enabling them to work in offline mode. 
With immense benefits, PWA App Development services have been gaining huge popularity enabling businesses to deliver a swift and smooth mobile native customer experience. From better web traffic, enhanced customer engagement to quicker conversion rates, PWA makes them possible. Almost every browser and platform support PWA but its support on Apple’s platform Safari is restrained compared to Google platforms like Chrome & Edge. However, it does not mean PWA doesn’t work on iOS at all! In this article, we will learn how PWA is a great option for iOS despite the platform limitations.

What is iOS Web Apps?

The web apps in the iOS platform run in a standalone mode similar to other native apps and it was launched in Safari three years ago but has positive as well as negative sides as compared to Android and iOS native apps. Talking about the capabilities, it has support for geolocation API, sensors, audio output, camera, speech combination, Apple Pay, and more. While on the other hand, Apple’s caching limit is just 50 MB making heavy, HD audios/videos slow and frustrating. Features like Bluetooth, beacon, Siri, Face ID, Touch ID, push notifications, etc. doesn’t work with the iOS web app. 

PWA vs. iOS Web Apps

Talking about Apple, Safari supports server worker caching using parts of web manifest file and has a service worker cache limit of 50MB but it doesn’t come with push notifications or background sync. While Chrome and Edge support native adds to home screen prompt but it is not there in Safari. We know what all are missing in PWA for iOS but it is not as bad as it seems. One of the best features of the web platform is its capability to progressively enhance many features when a browser does not support them natively. 

Honestly, Apple was the one that supported the concept of a web app for the first time when they released the HTML-based apps for the iPhone. These apps provided the concept of annually adding a website to the home screen & launch in a full screen but it couldn’t deliver expected results as service workers did not exist. Though the iOS experience of PWA is different from other platforms, it is improving with every update of Safari. Instead of calling PWA, Apple prefers to call HTML Apps or Web Apps.
Top Examples That Shows PWA Implementation on iOS is Successful
When we talk about the progressive web app, we are taking time to create a better customer experience that is aimed to make customers happier with higher engagement rates. Even if PWA has some iOS platform limitations, most of the brands using PWA have witnessed an increase in their iOS engagement numbers. 

Here are some of the PWA examples on iOS that shows how it can improve key performance indicators-

- AliExpress PWA is one of the best examples of fast and sleek mobile design having a small footprint but still functions as a complete hub for shopping & browsing the marketplace. With PWA built by Aliexpress, they have witnessed an 82% increase in iOS conversion rate even when Safari doesn’t fully support service workers.

- Another big brand, Washington Post’s Progressive Web App has been an eye-opener as it has seen a 5x increase in engagement. Some may be surprised with the result as service workers that play a main role in faster/offline experience is not supported on iOS and web notifications works only on desktop Safari, not on Mobile Safari. We can agree that even without service workers, the PWA was faster than the mobile site. 

- Mynet, a website with news, videos, games, entertainment content & more launched PWA that uses Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for the content. Through PWA, the brand saw an increase in mobile web experience by 4x times that helped them in increasing revenue by 25%. 

It is clear from the above section that even with limitations; PWA on iOS is never a bad choice as it helps in providing a better web user experience and Apple will soon be beating the competition and performs even better than Chrome, Edge, and other browsers. 

Closing Statement
Though there are some limitations for Progressive Web Apps on iOS, there are many brands that have gained better customer engagement rates after upgrading their business websites to a PWA, especially on the iOS platform. Hopefully, you must have got an idea of how PWAs can be a good choice to target iPhone and iPad customers for your application. If you are still confused, get in touch with the expert team of our iPhone App Development Company to build PWA for your brand and target iOS users for an impactful positive response.