WebProNews

Tag: iOS 16

  • Users Can No Longer Downgrade to iOS 16.3

    Users Can No Longer Downgrade to iOS 16.3

    Users can no longer downgrade to iOS 16.3, a result of Apple no longer signing the iOS 16.3 update.

    Apple released iOS 16.3.1 in mid-February and has stopped signing its immediate predecessor. As a result, any users who may be experiencing issues in 16.3.1, no longer have the option to downgrade, according to MacRumors.

    The move is not at all uncommon, as Apple routinely stops signing older versions of its operating systems. This ensures users stay on the latest editions, which in most cases is a good thing.

  • iOS 16.4 Brings ‘Web Push,’ Enables Web App Push Notification

    iOS 16.4 Brings ‘Web Push,’ Enables Web App Push Notification

    The first beta of iOS 16.4 has been released, bringing a major new feature in the form of push notifications for web apps.

    Notifications are an everyday occurrence on mobile devices, but they normally require a traditional app to support them. Apple announced “Web Push,” a way for developers to bring push notifications to web apps, at WWDC 2022.

    With the arrival of the first iOS 16.4 beta, Web Push has made an appearance. In a blog post on the WebKit site, Apple highlights the long-time importance of web apps to the iOS ecosystem:

    Since the first iPhone, users could add any website to their Home Screen — whether it’s a brochure site, a blog, a newspaper, an online store, a social media platform, a streaming video site, productivity software, an application for creating artwork, or any other type of website. For the last ten years, users of Safari on iOS and iPadOS could do this by tapping the Share button to open the Share menu, and then tapping “Add to Home Screen”. The icon for that website then appears on their Home Screen, where a quick tap gets them back to the site.

    Apple then goes on to tout the benefits of Web Push:

    Now with iOS and iPadOS 16.4 beta 1, we are adding support for Web Push to Home Screen web apps. Web Push makes it possible for web developers to send push notifications to their users through the use of Push API, Notifications API, and Service Workers all working together.

    A web app that has been added to the Home Screen can request permission to receive push notifications as long as that request is in response to direct user interaction — such as tapping on a ‘subscribe’ button provided by the web app. iOS or iPadOS will prompt the user to give the web app permission to send notifications. The user can then manage those permissions per web app in Notifications Settings — just like any other app on iPhone and iPad.

    The notifications from web apps work exactly like notifications from other apps. They show on the Lock Screen, in Notification Center, and on a paired Apple Watch.

    Web Push comes at a time when Apple is facing increasing pressure to open up iOS and allow third-party app stores and sideloading on its platform. By bringing web apps closer to native apps, in terms of feature parity, the company may be trying to prop them up as a viable alternative to native apps in its bid to fight regulatory attempts to crack open its walled garden.

  • Poor iPhone Battery Life? You’re Not Alone & iOS 16 Is to Blame

    Poor iPhone Battery Life? You’re Not Alone & iOS 16 Is to Blame

    There appears to be an issue with the latest versions of iOS 16, with users reporting significantly less iPhone battery life.

    Battery life is universally one of the biggest selling points for manufacturers when releasing new models. The iPhone 13 Pro Max was one of Apple’s best phones, in terms of battery life, but even that model doesn’t appear to be able to overcome iOS 16.

    Writing for Digital Trends, Prakhar Khanna outlines the trouble he had upgrading from his iPhone 13 Pro Max to the iPhone 14. When the battery life didn’t compete, he went back to his old phone, only to find the upgrade to iOS 16 had destroyed its battery life as well.

    Khanna described his findings:

    I realized later that the problem was not the 14 Pro’s battery size, but it was iOS 16’s poor battery optimization. I only realized this when I noticed that the latest OS updates had compromised my iPhone 13 Pro’s battery life as well.

    Khanna says there doesn’t appear to be any method or madness to the battery drain:

    In my experience, there is no consistent battery life behavior to be pointed out. Sometimes, Spotify drains the battery, while other times, it is Twitter (two of my most used apps). But the battery drain on any app using location services is the worst on iOS 16. These apps include Maps, commuting services, dating apps, and the Camera app (if you have the location tag feature enabled).

    Unfortunately, Khanna’s experience is not an isolated one, with Reddit posts and discussions on Apple’s own support forums confirming the issue. Some users have had success downgrading to iOS 15 but, until Apple provides a fix for iOS 16, there doesn’t appear to be a viable, long-term fix in sight.