Enhance User Engagement with iOS Rich Push Notifications: Video Strategies for Success

Do you want to enhance your iOS app’s user experience by adding interactive and engaging rich notifications?

In this article, we will explore the fascinating world of iOS rich push notifications, with a specific focus on adding video support.

Discover how to play videos when notifications are received, display images, and find sample code to get you started.

Get ready to take your app’s notifications to the next level!

ios rich push notifications video

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1. Adding Video Support To Rich Notifications On iOS

Rich push notifications on iOS have been around for a while now, allowing developers to provide more engaging and interactive content to their users. One of the most exciting additions to rich notifications is the ability to include videos. This opens up a whole new world of possibilities for enhancing user engagement with push notifications.

Adding video support to rich notifications on iOS requires a few steps. First, you need to ensure that your app’s capabilities are set to support push notifications and media playback. This can be done in the project settings under the Capabilities tab. Once that is done, you can start implementing the code to handle video notifications.

To add video support, you need to create a custom notification service extension. This extension handles the incoming notification and should include the necessary code to handle video playback. You can use Apple’s AVPlayer framework to play the video when a notification is received.

2. Playing A Video When A Notification Is Received

Playing a video when a notification is received can greatly enhance the user experience and grab their attention. To achieve this, you need to extract the video URL from the notification payload. Once you have the URL, you can pass it to the AVPlayer to load and play the video.

When a notification with a video is received, the system launches your notification service extension. In the didReceive method of the extension, you can extract the video URL using the notification’s userInfo dictionary. This URL can then be used to initialize an AVPlayerItem and passed to the AVPlayer for playback.

It is important to handle any errors that may occur during the video loading and playback process. This includes checking for network connectivity issues and making sure the video format is supported by the AVPlayer. By properly handling these errors, you can provide a smooth and seamless video playback experience for your users.

3. Displaying An Image In A Rich Notification

In addition to videos, rich notifications on iOS also support displaying images. This can be a useful way to provide visual context to the user and make the notification more visually appealing.

To display an image in a rich notification, you need to include the image URL in the notification payload. The system will then automatically download and display the image when the notification is delivered to the user’s device.

It is important to note that the image size should be optimized for display on different device sizes. Apple recommends providing multiple versions of the image, each optimized for a specific display size. This ensures that the image looks good on all devices, from the smallest iPhones to the largest iPads.

Key points:

• Rich notifications on iOS support displaying images.
• Including the image URL in the notification payload enables automatic download and display.
• Image size should be optimized for different device sizes.

4. Finding Sample Code In Swift For Rich Notifications

If you are new to implementing rich notifications in your iOS app or simply looking for some sample code to get started, there are plenty of resources available online.

One popular resource is Apple’s official documentation, which includes sample code and tutorials on implementing rich notifications. The documentation covers topics such as creating a notification service extension, handling media attachments, and customizing the notification UI.

In addition to Apple’s documentation, there are also numerous tutorials and code repositories on platforms like GitHub that provide sample code for rich notifications. These resources can be a valuable starting point for understanding the implementation details and best practices for rich notifications in Swift.

• Apple’s official documentation includes sample code and tutorials
• GitHub repositories offer additional sample code for rich notifications.

5. Adding Support For Video Notifications On iOS

To add support for video notifications on iOS, the following specific modifications need to be made to your app’s code and configurations:

• Enable the “remote-notification” background mode in your app’s capabilities. This allows your app to receive push notifications even when it’s not running in the foreground.

• Create a custom notification service extension. This extension is responsible for handling the incoming notification and can be used to add custom logic for video playback.

• Inside the notification service extension, extract the video URL from the notification payload and pass it to an AVPlayer for playback. Additionally, customize the UI of the notification by providing a custom view controller to display the video.

By following these steps, you can easily add support for video notifications on iOS and provide a more engaging and interactive experience for your users.

6. Function To Add To The NotificationService Class

In order to enable video playback in push notifications, you need to add a specific function to the NotificationService class in your custom notification service extension.

This function, called “didReceive(_:withContentHandler:)”, is automatically called when a notification is received. Inside this function, you can extract the video URL from the notification payload and pass it to an AVPlayer for playback.

Here’s an example of how the function can be implemented:

override func didReceive(_ request: UNNotificationRequest, withContentHandler contentHandler: @escaping (UNNotificationContent) -> Void) {

Extract video URL from notification payload

    let videoURL = extractVideoURL(from: request.content.userInfo)


Create AVPlayer and load video URL

    let player = AVPlayer(url: videoURL)


Create a custom view controller to display the video

    let videoViewController = VideoViewController(player: player)


Present the video view controller

    present(videoViewController, animated: true, completion: nil)


Call the contentHandler to ensure the notification is displayed

    contentHandler(request.content)
}

By implementing this function in your custom notification service extension, you can easily handle video playback when a notification is received.

• Extract the video URL from the notification payload
• Create an AVPlayer and load the video URL
• Create a custom view controller to display the video
• Present the video view controller
• Call the contentHandler to ensure the notification is displayed.

7. New Features In Apple’s Notification System

Apple has introduced several new features in its notification system to enhance the user experience and provide more customization options for developers.

One such feature is the ability to add notification actions and text input directly in the notification itself. This allows users to take actions or respond to messages without opening the app.

Another new feature is the ability to group notifications, which organizes related notifications together to reduce clutter in the notification center and make it easier for users to manage their notifications.

Apple has also introduced support for silent notifications, which are delivered to the device without alerting the user. This can be useful for sending important updates or performing background tasks without disturbing the user.

These new features provide developers with more flexibility and customization options when implementing rich notifications in their iOS apps.

• Ability to add notification actions and text input directly in the notification.
• Group notifications to reduce clutter and improve organization.
• Support for silent notifications, delivering updates without disturbing the user.

8. Notification Actions And Text Input In Actions

Notification actions and text input in actions are powerful features that allow users to interact with notifications directly, without opening the app. This can streamline user interactions and provide a more seamless experience.

Notification actions are buttons or other interactive elements that appear in the notification when it is delivered to the user’s device. These actions can perform various tasks, such as replying to a message, marking a notification as read, or opening a specific view in the app.

Text input in actions allows users to respond to messages or provide input directly in the notification itself. This is particularly useful for messaging apps or any app that requires user input.

To add notification actions and text input to your rich notifications, you need to define them in the notification’s category. This category specifies the type of actions available and their associated handlers.

By providing notification actions and text input in actions, you can provide users with more convenience and flexibility in interacting with your app’s notifications.

• Examples of notification actions:
• Reply to message
• Mark as read

• Open app view

• Examples of apps that benefit from text input in actions:

• Messaging apps

• Productivity apps

• Remember to define the notification category to enable these features.

9. Grouped And Silent Notifications

Grouped and silent notifications are features introduced by Apple to improve the organization and management of notifications on iOS devices.

Grouped notifications allow related notifications to be grouped together, making it easier for users to manage and dismiss multiple notifications at once. This can help reduce clutter in the notification center and improve the overall user experience.

Silent notifications, on the other hand, are delivered to the device without alerting the user. They can be used to update app content, fetch data, or perform background tasks without interrupting the user. Silent notifications are particularly useful for apps that require frequent updates or notifications that do not require immediate attention.

By utilizing grouped and silent notifications, you can provide a more organized and efficient notification experience for your users.

10. Notification Attachments And Custom UI

In addition to videos and images, rich notifications on iOS also support other types of media attachments, such as audio files and documents.

You can include these attachments in the notification payload and the system will handle the downloading and display of the media when the notification is delivered to the user’s device.

Furthermore, rich notifications allow for customizing the UI of the notification to provide a unique and branded experience for your users. This can be done by creating a custom view controller or using a notification content app extension.

By leveraging the notification attachments and custom UI options, you can create visually stunning and interactive notifications that captivate your users’ attention.

FAQ

What size image for rich push notifications?

When it comes to rich push notifications on Android, there is no strict size limit for the extended notification images, but they must have a 2:1 ratio. Additionally, Android offers the option to set a separate image for the standard notification view. For optimal results, it is recommended to use image sizes of 512×256 for Small notifications, 1024×512 for Medium notifications, and 2048×1024 for Large notifications.

What is the difference between push notifications and rich notifications?

While push notifications deliver only text, rich notifications offer a more immersive experience by integrating various forms of media. With rich notifications, you can include captivating visuals such as images, GIFs, or videos to engage users on a deeper level. Additionally, the inclusion of audio and interactive buttons enhances user interaction and enables them to take immediate actions directly from the notification itself, providing a more dynamic and interactive user experience than standard push notifications.

What is rich push notification in iOS?

Rich push notifications in iOS are a form of interactive notifications that go beyond simple text messages. These notifications contain media attachments, such as animated GIFs, videos, or audio, which enhance the communication between the user and the app. With rich push notifications, app developers can engage users in a more inviting and interactive manner, even when they are not actively using the app or browsing the website. This enables a better user experience and allows for more meaningful and engaging communication between the app and its users.

What is the image size limit for push notifications iOS?

The image size limit for push notifications on iOS varies based on the type of notification. For Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) notifications, the maximum payload size is 5 KB (5120 bytes), while for all other remote notifications, the limit is 4 KB (4096 bytes). It is crucial to ensure that images are sized accordingly to fit within these payload limits to ensure smooth delivery of the notifications.