Publishing a PWA: Google Says "Cool," Apple Says "File 19 Forms and Cry"
Let’s talk about Progressive Web Apps. Specifically, the hilarious difference between publishing a PWA on Android vs iOS:
- Google Play: “Sure, whatever. You built a thing? Looks cool. Come on in.”
- Apple: “Interesting. Before we allow that, we need your blood type, three screenshots of your soul, and a SwiftUI onboarding screen even if your app doesn’t need one.”
Google Play: A Relatively Normal Experience
Let me be clear: Google is not perfect. But when it comes to PWAs, they’re at least pretending to be on your side.
- You can ship a WebAPK or wrap your PWA with tools like TWA (Trusted Web Activities).
- You don’t need a native shell just to pretend to be an app.
- Chrome on Android supports PWA features properly, including install prompts, background sync, push, and actual fullscreen.
- Play Store doesn’t lose its mind if your app is just a glorified bookmark that talks to a server.
Basically: if your thing works in Chrome, it’ll probably work on Android. That’s called "reasonable developer expectations." We love to see it.
Apple: The Fortress of Arbitrary Requirements
Then there’s Apple. Our elegant, walled-garden overlords.
- Want to publish a PWA to the App Store? You’re out of luck — you can’t.
- Want full PWA support in Safari? Too bad — missing push notifications, buggy install behavior, no background sync, no Web Bluetooth, no access to common APIs, etc.
- Want a native wrapper to get your app on the store anyway? Congrats, you’re now an iOS developer, which means:
- Build a wrapper in Swift or Objective-C
- Handle App Store submission guidelines that were clearly written by a Byzantine cleric
- Sign things with Xcode, hope Apple doesn’t reject your app for reasons
- Pay Apple $99/year for the privilege of groveling
Oh, and god forbid your app feels too much like a webview — they’ll reject it for being “not app-like enough.” What does that mean? No one knows. Tim Cook knows. But he won’t tell you.
Why Is This Still Like This?
Because Apple doesn’t want you to skip the App Store. They want their 30%. They want their sandbox. They want to own the platform and the distribution and the experience. And if your cute little open web thing threatens that, they’ll neuter it at the OS level.
PWAs are great. On desktop, they’re amazing. On Android, they’re tolerable. On iOS?
They’re tolerated. Barely. Like an estranged cousin who shows up to the wedding uninvited.
So What Now?
If you’re building a PWA:
- Android: go wild. It’ll mostly work. You’ll feel like a developer again.
- iOS: either wrap it in a native shell and play their game, or tell your users to “add to home screen” and pray they figure it out. The latest release of iOS has made small improvements to the add to home screen behavior, the main one being it now actually opens as a web app and not in the browser like a normal bookmark, about time.
If you're wondering whether it’s worth building a PWA in 2025? It is — just don’t expect Apple to be happy about it.