Even though 2023 hasn't wrapped up, it's clear this year is shaping up to be monumental for the open web. Apple, Microsoft, and Google have been dropping some pretty awesome updates – some I honestly thought would never come – making PWAs an increasingly viable alternative to native apps. And many companies (yeah, including my own) are hopping on this trend.
What happened in the world of PWA in 2023?
In March, Apple finally added push notifications to iOS PWAs. This was by far the most demanded PWA feature of all time. As I wrote a few months ago, Apple's push implementation is good — really good. Dare I even say better than Google's?
In April, @MorganWBender and team rolled out the beta of store.app – the first-ever app store dedicated to PWAs.
In May, Google finally eliminated the service worker requirement for both Android and Desktop Chrome. Developers no longer need to incorporate a service worker for their apps to qualify as installable. Everything that simplifies the development process is a welcome change.
Come August, friend.tech dropped a PWA-only crypto app. No native app. Not accessible in the browser. You have to install it on your homescreen to use it. Probably the most ballsy PWA implementation I've ever seen.
With Safari 17 released in September, Apple added a new "Add To Dock" button to desktop Safari. They've also increased the storage quotas assigned to Home Screen Apps. Another much-needed improvement was the addition of the "Add To Home Screen" button to in-app browsers that use Safari View Controller — that one had been on my bucket list for a long time.
Microsoft and @diekus are also making strides with a proposal for a new Web Install API, which if rolled out, will allow apps to be installed from other domains.
While PWAs might not be the magic bullet to replace all native apps, they certainly carve out an increasingly significant niche. They will never fully take over the native app space, nor should they. But for many use cases, they're a game changer. Universal installability, no app store commissions, instant updates – what's not to like?
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