Priority Notifications: A Deep Dive (Code Example)

Priority Notifications are a great feature in iOS, enabling you to send important or time-sensitive notifications that demand immediate attention. These notifications are meant to catch the user’s eye more effectively and are especially useful for critical alerts or urgent messages.

In iOS 18.4 beta 2, the Priority Notifications feature was introduced, allowing developers to categorize notifications based on their urgency and importance. Let’s take a closer look at how we can implement these notifications in your iOS apps.

What are Priority Notifications?

Unlike regular notifications, Priority Notifications are displayed with higher visibility and can be prioritized over others. These notifications are typically used for:

• Critical alerts or messages that need immediate action.

• Time-sensitive reminders or tasks.

• Any event that requires the user’s immediate attention, such as an emergency or important update.

For example:

• A social media app might use this for an urgent announcement.

• A calendar app might notify users of an upcoming, important meeting.

• A health app might send a critical message regarding the user’s health.

Priority Notifications ensure that more urgent alerts are highlighted and noticed by the user, improving the user experience when it comes to notifications.

How to Implement Priority Notifications

In iOS 18.4, you can prioritize notifications by defining them in the UNNotificationRequest with the priority property. This ensures that the notification is shown promptly and is given higher attention by the system.

Sending a Priority Notification – Code Example

1. Request Notification Permission

The first step is to request permission from the user to show notifications. This is done using UNUserNotificationCenter.

import UserNotifications

// Request notification permission
func requestNotificationPermission() {
    let center = UNUserNotificationCenter.current()
    
    center.requestAuthorization(options: [.alert, .badge, .sound]) { granted, error in
        if granted {
            print("Notification permission granted!")
        } else {
            print("Notification permission denied.")
        }
    }
}        

2. Create a Priority Notification Content

To create a priority notification, you need to define the content in a UNMutableNotificationContent and set the priority. In iOS 18.4, this will allow the system to prioritize this notification over others.

func sendPriorityNotification() {
    let content = UNMutableNotificationContent()
    content.title = "Important Notification"
    content.body = "This is a priority notification!"
    content.sound = .default
    content.badge = NSNumber(value: 1)

    // Define categories for the notification
    let category = UNNotificationCategory(identifier: "PriorityCategory",
                                          actions: [],
                                          intentIdentifiers: [],
                                          options: [])

    // Set notification categories
    UNUserNotificationCenter.current().setNotificationCategories([category])

    // Create the notification request
    let request = UNNotificationRequest(identifier: "priorityNotification",
                                        content: content,
                                        trigger: nil) // This will trigger the notification immediately.
    
    // Add the notification
    UNUserNotificationCenter.current().add(request) { error in
        if let error = error {
            print("Error adding notification: \(error)")
        } else {
            print("Priority notification sent successfully!")
        }
    }
}        

3. Setting Notification Priority

You can set the priority of the notification to high, so the system treats it as a more urgent notification.

let request = UNNotificationRequest(identifier: "priorityNotification",
                                    content: content,
                                    trigger: nil)
request.priority = .high  // Set this notification as high priority        

Notification Categories

As you know, iOS notifications can be grouped into categories. By defining a category for priority notifications, you can group similar notifications together and give users the ability to interact with them.

For example, a user might want to take immediate action on a “priority” notification. This can be achieved using UNNotificationAction.

// Define notification actions
let snoozeAction = UNNotificationAction(identifier: "SnoozeAction",
                                        title: "Snooze",
                                        options: [.foreground])

// Define notification category
let category = UNNotificationCategory(identifier: "PriorityCategory",
                                      actions: [snoozeAction],
                                      intentIdentifiers: [],
                                      options: [])        

Managing and Handling Notifications

In addition to displaying notifications, it’s also important to handle the user’s response to them. Handling responses can be done by using the UNUserNotificationCenterDelegate.

func userNotificationCenter(_ center: UNUserNotificationCenter, 
                             didReceive response: UNNotificationResponse, 
                             withCompletionHandler completionHandler: @escaping () -> Void) {
    if response.actionIdentifier == "SnoozeAction" {
        print("Notification snoozed!")
    }
    completionHandler()
}        

Key Takeaways and Tips

• Priority Notifications help users stay aware of important alerts that need immediate attention. This feature is especially useful for critical messages or time-sensitive updates.

• Notification Categories and Actions allow users to interact directly with notifications. You can allow users to respond, like snoozing the notification or taking other actions.

• Testing the Feature: When implementing priority notifications, make sure to test them thoroughly on devices running iOS 18.4 or later, as some beta features may behave differently across different iOS versions.

By integrating Priority Notifications into your app, you can improve user engagement, ensure that critical information is highlighted, and create a more user-friendly experience.