🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/reactjs › pwa on ios
r/reactjs on Reddit: PWA on iOS
March 18, 2024 -

Hey all, I'm considering going fully on React and use PWA for both iOS and Android.
It seems Android makes it a bit easier, do you happen to know by any chance the pitfalls of using PWA on iOS? Specifically in these areas:
- User installation.
- Notifications.
- Geolocation.
Any insight is appreciated

Top answer
1 of 5
4
Well, for Angular you can use Ionic to make a real app. I'm sure there's something similar to just build it as a regular app someone can install from a store or side load.
2 of 5
4
Just my two cents: People are not using PWA apps enough that it‘s worth implementing one. The most average users don‘t even know what a PWA is. „Huh? Why should I bookmark my Website to my Homescreen. Naaah, I won‘t do this.“ would be the most frequent use case, at least on iOS. For notifications I guess there are many guides to implement it. Since iOS 16 PWAs can send push notifications to iPhones. Here is a developer guide from Apple: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/usernotifications/sending-web-push-notifications-in-web-apps-and-browsers Can‘t give you insights on geolocations.
🌐
Mobiloud
mobiloud.com › blog › do pwas work on iphone? (progressive web apps for ios)
Do PWAs Work on iPhone? (Progressive Web Apps for iOS)
However, Apple has since posted an update to this message, saying that support for Home Screen apps (PWAs) is being brought back: “Previously, Apple announced plans to remove the Home Screen web apps capability in the EU as part of our efforts to comply with the DMA. The need to remove the capability was informed by the complex security and privacy concerns associated with web apps to support alternative browser engines that would require building a new integration architecture that does not currently exist in iOS.
Videos
🌐 youtube.com
Installing a PWA on your iPhone
🌐 youtube.com
Download the PWA on iOS
01:35
🌐 YouTube
Instalar APP Móvil Progresiva (PWA) en IOS - YouTube
May 22, 2025
08:43
🌐 YouTube
Webapp to Progressive Web App - Let's make it easy for Android/iOS ...
January 2, 2025
04:07
🌐 YouTube
Progressive Web Apps in 2024 - YouTube
June 7, 2024
46.4K
🌐 reddit.com
Native-like IOS PWA application : r/PWA
March 7, 2023
View all
View all
🌐
Brainhub
brainhub.eu › library › pwa-on-ios
PWA on iOS - Current Status & Limitations for Users [2025]
Although Safari doesn't provide an automatic installation prompt, users can still add PWAs to their home screen. iOS 13 introduced a new Share Sheet design, making this process more intuitive with visual cues from the apple-touch-icon meta tag.
🌐
Alinpanaitiu
notes.alinpanaitiu.com › Install-any-website-as-PWA-on-iOS
Install any website as PWA on iOS — Alin Panaitiu
I have a few websites that I need to use often on my iPhone. I want to have them as PWA (Progressive Web Apps) so I can use them as if they were native apps. This helps by making those sites readily available in the App Switcher, on the home screen and in Spotlight Search.
🌐
Pwabuilder
blog.pwabuilder.com › posts › publish-your-pwa-to-the-ios-app-store
Publish your PWA to the iOS App Store | PWA Builder Blog
Announcing PWABuilder's new iOS platform. Publish your PWA to the App Store and gain new iPhone and iPad users.
🌐
Codewave
codewave.com › home › limitations and status of progressive web apps on ios
Limitations and Status of Progressive Web Apps on iOS
October 16, 2024 - PWAs are web applications that leverage modern web technologies to deliver app-like experiences. They offer features such as offline functionality, push notifications, and home screen shortcuts, making them feel more native to the device.
🌐
Scandiweb
scandiweb.com › home › collection › pwa ios strategies for unbeatable mobile performance!
iPhone iOS PWA Strategies for Unbeatable Mobile Performance
June 3, 2025 - Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) on iOS offer app-like experiences with offline access, but encounter specific challenges due to Apple’s native app preference and various limitations on iOS features compared to Android.
🌐
web.dev
web.dev › learn › pwa › installation
Installation | web.dev
The app catalogs and stores that support publishing a PWA are: Google Play Store for Android and ChromeOS, using a Trusted Web Activity. Apple App Store for iOS, macOS, and iPadOS, using WKWebView and App-Bound Domains.
🌐
The.Swift.Dev
theswiftdev.com › progressive-web-apps-on-ios
Progressive Web Apps on iOS - The.Swift.Dev.
This is a beginner's guide about creating PWAs for iOS including custom icons, splash screens, safe area and dark mode support. A progressive web application is just a special kind of website, that can look and behave like a native iOS app. In order to build a PWA, first we’re going to create ...
Find elsewhere
🌐
Firt
firt.dev › notes › pwa-ios
iOS PWA Compatibility － firt.dev
This is a compatibility list of supported features on Safari on iOS and iPadOS vs. what's available in the most used PWA browser in current market share for similar mobile devices: Google Chrome on Android.
🌐
web.dev
web.dev › learn › pwa › progressive-web-apps
Progressive Web Apps | web.dev
Note: People tend to think of Progressive Web Apps as an app that the user can install from a browser instead of an app store. However, a PWA can be listed in many app stores today as an optional distribution channel, including Google Play Store (for Android and ChromeOS), Microsoft Store (for Windows 10 and 11), and Apple AppStore (for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS).
🌐
Netguru
netguru.com › home page › blog › 6 tips to make your ios pwa feel like a native app
6 Tips To Make Your iOS PWA Feel Like a Native App
December 31, 2024 - New iOS update was released, providing support for essential PWA features. Check out 6 tricks making UX with your PWA on iOS much more like native.
🌐
Stack Overflow
stackoverflow.com › questions › 57077108 › does-progressive-web-apps-really-works-on-ios
Does Progressive Web-Apps really works on iOS?
Top answer
1 of 1
2

iOS started very late to open to PWAs and it still needs extra attributes (as you used) to provide the full set of PWA features.

In Chrome DevTools if you go to Application tab (for your application), can you see that the web manifest with its properties is correctly displayed and the service worker as well?

As Mathias said, you need an HTTPS connection to be able to register correctly a service worker. Localhost however is considered "safe" for developing purposes.

I wrote a series of articles about PWA, you can have a look and follow along to see if you missed anything.

Here a list of browsers supporting service workers (to compare with the safari version you are using).

UPDATE

I answer here to your comments:

  1. If some web sites that offers PWAs (eg. Uber, FB) work as PWA on other devices, but not on your phone, then I would try to investigate whether there is a setting missing on your side. I made a quick research and it seems that for iOS users some extra steps are needed to use/enable PWAs:

The user has to access the PWA URL with Safari and then manually press the Share icon and then “Add to Home Screen.” There is no indication that the visited website is a PWA.

About the "Add to home screen" in Chrome, I could not indeed find any official information when it has been removed. I can only say that I never seen it again since one of the latest versions (v74+).

  1. Every pages of a PWAs should be linkable in order to benefit from sharing it via social media apps. Therefore if you have a working PWA and you send links to others, these should work as well. There are no special browser restrictions, given that the app is correctly implemented.

I leave you below some links where other people have similar issues with PWAs and iOS 12.2:

  • Link with discussion
  • Test PWA
  • Article with some tips (here there are some suggestions on how to make the PWA work on iOS)
🌐
Neoteric
neoteric.eu › home › web development › all you need to know about pwa on ios
PWA on iOS: notifications, deployment, benefits | Neoteric
September 4, 2025 - In this article, we’ll explain what PWAs are and whether they work on Apple devices. We’ll also discuss why many companies choose to develop a progressive web app over a native app and will share a PWA iOS example on the app store.
🌐
Koombea
koombea.com › home › progressive web apps for ios
Progressive Web Apps for iOS
May 10, 2024 - While it is now possible to use Progressive Web Apps on the iOS platform, Apple has been less than enthusiastic about bringing full Progressive Web App (PWA) functionality that users on other platforms enjoy to iOS.
🌐
Monterail
monterail.com › blog › pwa
PWAs Are Now Available for Apple Devices with iOS 12.2 (and 13 beta) | Monterail
Progressive Web Apps are no longer limited to Android users, but can be easily accessed by iPhone and iPad owners with the iOS starting from 11.3 to 12.2, plus the soon-to-come 13 (currently in beta).
🌐
Mobiloud
mobiloud.com › blog › how to publish a pwa to the app store and google play store
How to Publish a PWA to the App Store and Google Play Store
By “packaging” your PWA as a mobile app, it essentially just creates a webview app, which shows your website’s content within the wrapper of a native app. Unlike Bubblewrap, it works for Android and iOS (as well as Windows and Meta Quest).
🌐
Love2Dev
love2dev.com › pwa › ios
Progressive Web Apps (PWA) on iOS 13 & 14, iPhone & iPad
Progressive Web Apps are great solutions for business success despite the iOS 13 & 14 not supporting all modern web platform features. Learn why PWAs are better than native apps for your business
🌐
Civicplus
civicplus.help › community-development › docs › install-a-progressive-web-application-pwa
Install a Progressive Web Application (PWA)
An installed PWA can still be used without an internet connection. It will also appear alongside your other apps for convenient access. The installation process varies depending on your operating system and web browser. A PWA can only be installed on iOS using the Safari web browser.