Safari now supports Web Push API for Browser Notifications
Apple’s Safari browser on MacOS has finally switched to the cross browser Web Push Notifications spec followed by Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera and other browsers. The change comes to Safari 16 on MacOS 13 (Ventura) or later. Essentially, you won’t require an Apple Developer account to send notifications to Safari anymore.
Till now Safari used Apple’s own proprietary APNS (Apple Push Notification Service) for enabling browser notifications for websites on MacOS. This required creating your own Web Push certificate to be able to accept subscribers and send notifications. While all other browsers used the cross-browser web push spec using VAPID protocol.
Finally Safari has made the switch and will use the established VAPID protocol for subscriptions and push notifications. This further suggests that Apple will be using the web push spec for notifications on iOS as well which is due to arrive in early 2023.
We should be seeing the first beta with web push notification support for iPhones and iPads by the end of October or early November. For now, you do not need to make any changes to your integration or website.
PushAlert will handle the changes at the backend with Safari 15 and below using the old APNS protocol for push notifications, while users on Safari 16 and beyond will be switched to the web push spec for notifications.
If you have any questions or need any help, please reach out to us on chat or create a support ticket.
Don’t forget to sign up for PushAlert to be among the first ones to get web push notifications support on iOS.
