whats new about push notifications

Apple introduced a new feature for push notifications called broadcast push notifications in iOS and iPadOS 18, which is particularly useful for Live Activities. Here are the key points:

1. Broadcast Push Notifications: This new feature allows you to send a single push notification to multiple devices simultaneously, without needing to manage individual push tokens. This is especially useful for scenarios where many people are following the same event, such as a sports game or a flight update.

2. Channels: To use broadcast push notifications, each event must be associated with a unique channel ID. Devices subscribe to these channels to receive updates. For example, different sports games or flights will have different channels.

3. APNs Integration: The Apple Push Notification service (APNs) handles the delivery of these broadcast notifications. You only need to send one notification to APNs, which then distributes it to all subscribed devices.

4. Developer Tools: The Push Notifications console has been updated to support broadcast push notifications, allowing developers to create and manage channels, and test notifications.

5. Channel Management API: Developers can use this API to create, delete, and manage channels. It's important to manage the lifecycle of channels, as the number of active channels is limited.

For more detailed information, you can refer to the session Broadcast updates to your Live Activities starting at 02:07.