iOS 15.4 and iPadOS 15.4 beta code shows that push notifications, WebXR, and better PWA support may be coming to Safari
firt.devMaximiliano Firtman
Context & Ripple Effects
A year into iOS 15's lifecycle — which had already redrawn Safari's interface with the bottom address bar and its top-address-bar option — developer Maximiliano Firtman dug into the iOS 15.4 beta code and found evidence Apple was building three things Safari never had: web push notifications, WebXR, and fuller PWA support.
The find mattered because it foreshadowed a real policy shift, not just a feature flag: months later Apple confirmed opt-in web push would ship with iOS 16 in 2023, and by early 2023 the iOS 16.4 betas were letting homescreen web apps send notifications and badges — closing the gap that had kept iOS web apps second-class next to native ones.
First-order effects
Web app developers finally get a re-engagement channel on iOS: sites installed to the Home Screen can reach users with notifications instead of relying on email or native wrappers.
Apple's own gatekeeping loosens slightly — notification access, previously exclusive to App Store apps, extends to Safari-installed web apps under Apple-controlled conditions.
Second-order effects
Publishers and service companies can justify trimming native app budgets where the web app now covers notifications, badges, and install flows, shifting some spend away from App Store distribution and its commission structure.
Competing browser engines and platforms face pressure to match the capability set, while Apple retains leverage by restricting the feature to homescreen-installed, opt-in web apps rather than all sites.
Third-order effects
If the pattern holds — beta code surfacing a year before opt-in shipment — iOS's web platform converges toward feature parity with installed apps, but on Apple's terms: capability by capability, gated behind installation and user consent, keeping the App Store's economics intact even as the technical moat narrows.
The trend: Apple is incrementally upgrading Safari into a true app platform — web push, WebXR, richer PWAs — shipping each capability late relative to rivals but always inside consent-and-installation guardrails that protect its App Store position.
🚨 🚨 🚨 Push Notifications coming to web apps (PWAs) on iOS is huge! Once this last barrier drops a lot of apps will migrate from the App Store to PWAs. Check out this great post (and image from @firt's blog post) about the caveats and about changes to Safari in iOS 15.4 Beta 1. ht…
A whole category of website-apps are going to become utterly useless on iOS. About fucking time indeed. You don't need bank apps, insurance apps, ISP apps, phone company apps, etc. They always auto-uninstalled anyway because you barely ever use them. That's what the web is for. h…
just thinking of all the awful media companies that will immediately abuse the hell out of this in the name of engagement https://www.macrumors.com/...
Aaaa, this would make me very happy if true. One of the main things that makes Hometown less usable for people on iOS is that notifications can't pop up when you get mentioned from the web app. I have to send people to 3rd party native apps that are so-so. https://twitter.com/...
Support for WebXR in Safari would be a huge boon for the open web. Nice write-up by @benz145 summarizing updates: https://www.roadtovr.com/... Original report on WebXR in Safari by @firt here: https://firt.dev/... @Tojiro notes that it's more for an HMD rather than phone-based ht…
Between this and improved WebXR support coming to Safari, there are some nice wins for the web coming from Apple's recent work. https://twitter.com/...
New Story: @Apple is working on implementing PushKit into WebKit on #iOS and iPadOS, which would allow web-based apps through Safari to send notifications to users as native apps downloaded through the #AppStore. Details + why it matters: https://www.macrumors.com/... https://twi…