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Here's How Web Apps Work in macOS Sonoma
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If you want to customize the URL of the web app (e.g. in my case wanting to point Google News to a specific tab, like /foryou), or a separate app for each of your gmail accounts (/u/1, or /u/2, etc), open web inspector, find the manifest.json or webmanifest.php in Sources, copy and save somewhere on your computer with the same name. Edit the start_url to whatever you want it to be. Then right click on the manifest in Sources, Create Response Local Override, then Import (top right), reload page, then Add to Dock... will show your customized URL for the web app. Then delete the local override in the web inspector, close web inspector. This won't work if you have the same page open in another tab (I ran into this issue once by accident.)
What if you don't want to keep it in your dock? Can you move it to the desktop or applications folder?
Yes you can remove from the dock. I do this for quite a few of mine. It behaves like a standalone app. Be default it puts the application in your ~/user/Applications folder.
Wholeheartedly agree, they should've created a time machine and done it in the past instead.
To be specific and add on to the others that have replied. If you delete it from the Dock, you can get it or delete it from ~/Applications folder also (other than just Launchpad).
Yes. Any specific page can be a Webb App. You control the URL of the Web App.
Then that is another difference from "real" PWA's. AFAIK, there can only be one PWA per domain (unless you use subdomains). So, for example, if xyz.com is a PWA then xyz.com/news could not be a different PWA. Again, this new feature sounds more like some kind of enhanced bookmark.
It does sound like nothing more than a bookmark, which I already have plenty of. I don't see how this new feature saves any time or makes using said bookmark easier than normally viewing the site.
Just going by what has been posted here, they would open in their own windows without the browser interface and look more like an "app" than a website. I can see how that would be an advantage in some cases. But the big question is still whether they automatically purge your data after 7 days, like Safari does with websites.
Really hoping for extension support before the public release in September. No ad block etc is a bummer.
Since I don't know anything about this new Safari feature, I couldn't say. And it depends on how the web app is written, some might be little more than a website, others might take advantage of special capabilities. There's a pretty good overview of those here.
For me, as the developer of a mapping/gps PWA, the advantage is primarily on mobile devices, where the PWA can be installed on the home screen, have its own full screen window with no browser interface and appear separately from Safari in the app switcher. The experience is basically the same as a native app on the iPhone. The other big advantage is that data stored by the PWA will not be automatically purged by Safari. Regular website data is automatically deleted if you don't visit the site for 7 days (that's a Safari thing, other browsers don't do that, or at least not that quickly).
On the Mac, there are probably fewer advantages. For example, on a larger screen there's plenty of room for the browser interface and your app. But not having site data automatically deleted by Safari after 7 days would be nice. We still don't know whether that happens with these new Safari "web apps".
For me, as the developer of a mapping/gps PWA, the advantage is primarily on mobile devices, where the PWA can be installed on the home screen, have its own full screen window with no browser interface and appear separately from Safari in the app switcher. The experience is basically the same as a native app on the iPhone. The other big advantage is that data stored by the PWA will not be automatically purged by Safari. Regular website data is automatically deleted if you don't visit the site for 7 days (that's a Safari thing, other browsers don't do that, or at least not that quickly).
On the Mac, there are probably fewer advantages. For example, on a larger screen there's plenty of room for the browser interface and your app. But not having site data automatically deleted by Safari after 7 days would be nice. We still don't know whether that happens with these new Safari "web apps".
Web Apps already work in Safari on iOS and iPadOS. The reason that this feature is significant is because, in the past, web apps have never worked in Safari on MacOS. Of course, the author of a website must build it in the correct way for it to be a web app on iOS/iPadOS and this new MacOS feature would (apparently) let you turn any site into something similar to a web app.
So, iPadOS and iOS let you install PWAs only while MacOS Sonoma can install any website/webapp. I would know the engineering behind this feature (if this works like PWAs installation or it’s a different thing), looks pretty interesting.
Web apps have worked on the iPhone since it was introduced, same with the iPad. For some reason, Apple decided not to support them on the Mac. If you read back through this whole thread, there's a lot of discussion but not much clarity about this new feature. The big question in my mind regards persistent data storage. On iOS, your data will be preserved in a Safari web app, but with a regular website, Apple aggressively deletes data if you don't visit the site again within 7 days.
Works on iOS17 on my iPhone, so I’m guessing it also works on iPadOS but I dont have an iPad. On iOS it is on share screen, save to homescreen
Camera can be accessed via PWA. I've built a PWA login application several years ago that would log users in from a QR code.
Should not be laggy at all for button pushes. That may be just a code issue.
How about memory usage?
I hate (and don't use) PWAs from Chrome, etc. because of the massive RAM and resources used.
I don't have the beta installed, but does anyone know about how memory is managed and if they actually run at a reasonable tradeoff between having the full memory footprint of Safari open versus having 2-3 separate PWAs open at the same time?
With the Chromium ones, it gets out of hand pretty quickly (as does Chrome).
IF Apple was able to overcome this with Webkit and have the memory/resource usage kept low, while in-use or in the background, I would actually be on board with this as it would be a major improvement for Mac users.
Just curious if anyone has experience with both types?
I hate (and don't use) PWAs from Chrome, etc. because of the massive RAM and resources used.
I don't have the beta installed, but does anyone know about how memory is managed and if they actually run at a reasonable tradeoff between having the full memory footprint of Safari open versus having 2-3 separate PWAs open at the same time?
With the Chromium ones, it gets out of hand pretty quickly (as does Chrome).
IF Apple was able to overcome this with Webkit and have the memory/resource usage kept low, while in-use or in the background, I would actually be on board with this as it would be a major improvement for Mac users.
Just curious if anyone has experience with both types?
I've built PWAs for quite some time ( a little over 10 years ).
I believe memory usage depends on the libraries the developer has included and how they decide to store the data.
The App below currently has all ( minus deactivated ) data included in the following:
https://dos.myflorida.com/library-archives/records-management/general-records-schedules/
It was installed using Chrome and includes an instantaneous 'super search' for all data.
This currently running PWA only takes up about 26MB, according to Activity Monitor.
Is this too much memory usage?
PS. I have not installed the beta, nor tested it with Safari.