Apple Invites
apple.com
apple.com
The transition of the major social networks over the last 10-15 years -- from being a space for friends to interact to being a space to consume content produced by "unconnected" entities like influencers -- has created a huge opening for someone to claim the friends and family network. There is no one better positioned (at least in the U.S. where iPhones are the majority handset) than Apple.
I'll send an email for free, thankyouverymuch.
So long as Facebook remains available to everyone, even if the content feed is a mess, the event planning space is going to be more accessible to everyone and will end up being the defacto friends & family ecosystem.
I'm not an iCloud+ member, so I can't go in an look for myself, but ideally this would be just a fancy way of extending your iCloud Calendar invites where Gmail, Outlook, etc. users can still create events and invite people in roughly the same way. If as a Linux & Android user I am only able to RSVP to Apple users' invites, but I am never able to invite them to anything myself, then I literally cannot embrace this product without investing considerable money into their hardware, which I am not going to do.
Hell, if they featureset was compelling enough, and they had an iCloud app for non-Apple hardware platforms, I might actually consider being an iCloud+ member, but I guess it's not worth it to Apple to collect a monthly payment from me if I won't make the downpayment on an iPhone and a Macbook...
Very happy to see this
Maybe it'll go downhill like Evite and Facebook Events - but for now it's quite good.
Profitable small company (not affiliated but know the founders), won’t go downhill like evite.
I've used it for so much community organizing. It's such a simple tool and nobody has to make an account. You put in your name and an (optional) password. The optional password feature has served as a source of inspiration in my own projects. It pushed me to consider "does this really need an account? Can it be done without one?"
This Apple thing is going to turn into a "green text" social signalling thing all over again. If you have an Android, you won't be invited.
More scummy Apple social engineering bullshit. Kids that already hate on those having Android colored text bubbles are going to bully each other even more. And of course kids need the latest iPhone, too.
Apple is playing into this brilliantly and it's disgusting.
Apple iPhone ownership amongst USA teens:
2024: 87%
2019: 83%
2014: 67%
https://www.iclarified.com/95177/87-of-us-teens-own-iphones-...
https://www.pipersandler.com/news/piper-jaffray-completes-se...
https://www.pipersandler.com/news/different-new-cool-accordi...
Smartphone marketshare for iPhone in various countries:
65%: Norway
59%: Sweden/Japan/Canada/USA
49%: UK
30-39%: Germany/Portugal/Italy
other countries are lower from my random sampling of developed countries (South Korea is dominated by Samsung).
Source: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/norway
Change last part of url to get info for another country
I really wonder what the uptake is on iCloud+ subscriptions.
Yuck
I thought email was a common denominator but I learned most people don’t check email or check it rarely. So different from the days when everyone had email.
I still use FB and so do many of my friends my age (mid to late 40s). But a bunch have also migrated to Instagram.
Among the younger generation, you’re a millennial if you’re on instagram because they’ve moved to TikTok. FB folks are over the hill. There’s a generational divide and pride in being trendy.
WhatsApp is only a thing among my international friends — many Americans don’t have it.
The only universal now is text messages but it feels so clunky (even with iMessage).
Marketplace seems to be one of the main use cases that's still relatively popular.
Oh well - it was nice while it lasted.
Luckily - you don’t need an iPhone or iCloud account to receive an invite and RSVP to it. Might be harder (or impossible?) to add to photos and music, but you can still get an invite and RSVP to it.
Since Apple was too lazy to make it into a standard, it will probably go the way of App Clips. Niche idea, too few users to adopt it and no stakeholders with enough control to make it popular on other platforms.
I see the same risk involved with Apple TV's branding; Apple TV works great on Xbox, on NVIDIA Shield and on PC. I'm sure though there are a lot of people who just decide that shows like Foundation and subscriptions like MLS Season's Pass just aren't for them. I don't know if it is a 5% or a 20% drop but it has to be real.
As long as they don’t start naming other things Invite, they might avoid that issue. Although maybe they’ll name their HomePod with a screen that and we’re back to square one.
To start, it's not a service but an app. Sure there is a web interface, but the focus on the app already sets the stage (which also puts macos only users in an interesting position).
Then non-Apple users probably can only respond when the sales pitch is "to contribute to Shared Albums, and engage with Apple Music playlists"
If I'm not an Apple user there will only be downsides to using this service compared to any other one.
This needs anti-trust breakup. Tech companies shouldn't be media giants. They're turning a once-healthy media industry into an attention economy platform play, giving it away below cost, and wringing a robust sector of the economy of its value.
It's disgusting that Apple and Amazon are doing this. Amazon owns James Bond. And they're a grocery store and primary care doctor, for god's sake. That's not good.
This is worse than Standard Oil and Ma Bell because they own our entire lives: eyeballs, financial transactions, business matters, commerce, and personal relationships.
Don't you think that's kind of the point? Do you think having green and blue messaging bubbles was unintentional?
There are a few misses.
- I already declined a friend's invite, but that doesn't get auto filtered away, so my "decline" is still the primary thing the app has to show me. It's still my only invite, so maybe it gets filtered to the back of the card stack if there are multiple?
- I also don't seem to be able to see friends I know who were invited to the party (but have not yet responded). Perhaps it was because it was shared as an invite URL in a group chat rather than manually inviting everyone?
In this day and age of everyone multitasking ... that's a hell of a great feature to be able to say "guys look!".
For a while I was amazing my kids predicting touchdowns, but they caught on ;)
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[0] One can even say "first first-party party app" in this case :)
1. It helps grow Apple's ecosystem by covering just enough ground to make third-party alternatives less necessary for most users.
2. It reduces one of the major "sticky" points that keep people in Facebook's own moat. Events and Marketplace are the two reasons I still use Facebook.
3. It encourages competition from the people who want to do that last 10% better than Apple's apps, raising the baseline and hopefully forcing innovation as well. Those apps lead to more App Store revenue, so, cynically, it's a win-win for Apple.
it’s a great platform for the moment, enjoy it while it lasts.
We actually started before this was announced, and initially it was developed for a somewhat different use case (more focusing on "recurring invites"), but since it was asked a few times, I think we can offer a good alternative with it. [2]
I understand your reasons for choosing it, but that does not change that Flutter apps feel completely _wrong_ on any platform except Android, but most especially on iOS/macOS and the web. (This is unsurprising because Flutter is essentially a modern day implementation of Swing complete with personalities, and it's just as incorrect in its styling as Swing was. It's worse for the web because Flutter explicitly eschews standard web technologies in favour of either one big canvas or lots of little canvases.)
Best of luck.
I was thinking similar, except, "I wonder how this works with non-Apple users?". Instead of jumping straight to how evil this is.
> anyone can RSVP, regardless of whether they have an Apple Account or Apple device.
In some ways, "Cloud, by Apple" would have been better because it could have had a subsidiary tagline 'open to anyone' -where iPhone, iPad are pretty solidly walled garden devices.
I'm not in marketing. I am sure smart marketing people would point out downsides. I just think iCloud "says" -not for me, unless I have an iPhone.
If I had to assign a dollar value to being able to use this feature on my phone, it would be pennies per month.
This sounds like a great feature. Post event photo sharing is always a bit of a mess.
Has anyone tried from android yet?
- I'm glad to see this, as it might be an easily accessible alternative to Facebook events, which I tend to miss as I'm checking my FB only once in a while
- on the other hand, each new Apple release adds apps that might kill some small start-ups that are offering similar services for the small fee. Having a free alternative on your phone out of the box with most of your contacts using will lead to a decent number of subscriptions' cancellations. A good lesson to build smth that is harder to reproduce, though...
Then once I loved using Todo apps, I migrated to Todoist and started paying for a Todo app.
Apple Reminders is the reason why I pay for Todoist app, it helped me learn it, same reason why I moved from free iMovies app to a paid video editing app.
Same reason why I moved from Free Apple Notes to Bear Notes + Muse App (both paid subscriptions)
In a way, provided other apps keep accelerating and moving ahead of apple, apple’s free apps kinda end up working as free trial sessions for showcasing the Utility of a good App.
Also, its a good thing apple ends up commoditizing free entry-level apps, there’s a billion software out there to build for different industries, its the only way, the prices of software will fall, which means more money in our pockets to spend on other things. So it’s fine, just as long as people don’t forget to innovate, that’s the way a free market should be.
What is anti-competitive tho, is stuff like Apple Music and Spotify, where spotify has to pay 30% cut to apple while apple music doesnt have to pay anything. But as long as apple is commoditizing entry-level apps, for other fast moving startups that can be a good thing, as they can show better value to customers who already have tried out free apple apps and see the value of those softwares.
I would have never paid for all those apps each month, were it not for apple’s free apps that helped me see the value in it.
I wonder how much the network effect may be leveraged for apps like these, to the benefit or detriment of apps like Partiful in comparison with Invites.
I know Facebook's last useful feature appears to be events in many circles.
https://help.partiful.com/hc/en-us/articles/26526557943067-H...
it just says "We offer party add-ons and merch on our online store!"
Their online store has like 2 tshirts, stickers, sun glasses and a bag?!
Apple will use it's dominant position to create lock in like how they did with iMessage instead of cooperating with other platforms on a common standard.
Oder friends and family are surprised when they want to video call over Facetime and find it hard to believe other people's phones don't have Apple apps.
The app allows iPhone users to create an event. Anybody on any device or browser can RSVP. The event can be shared as a link. Making an event invite app that only works for users on one platform would be pointless.
Also - non-Apple users have been able to join FaceTime calls via. A link for several years.
Sounds like there’s no Apple walled garden lock-in for recipients of the Invites? Only for creating/managing them?
The telcos specify the size limits of MMS messages. iMessage has much higher limits in most cases, so iPhone has to use reduce the quality of the pics/videos to reach the lower size limits for sending to non-iMessage recipients.
For the telcos, why would they upgrade their size limits for MMS - it's just a cost centre for them. They probably make more by selling more iPhones as well.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/109364
I’m not defending Apple and don’t really want to get into a discussion into how limited this FaceTime over the web is and whatnot, I do think it could and should be done better. I’m just making a specific suggestion which may ease up your burden with those friends and family.
*Memories of my sister not believing me when I said she wouldn't be able to install her Windows copy of Doom on my Performa 5200 back in the 90s*
Apple is in a unique place where they can make a very cheap to build product that serves as an ad for how great iPhones are. And not try to sell me anything else. Just an invite that tracks who said yes and who said no.
People buy iPhones because 'they're different' due to iOS, the ecosystem, etc. I mean, high-end Android devices are really on par with, if not better than, iPhones, but people still buy iPhones because they don't want to share that feeling with everyone else.
AI “agents” will soon to solve a lot of mundane tasks for us like creating and sending invites for free I hope.
sadly insecure people just can't get over it. some things are exclusive. it's ok.
> create lock in like how they did with iMessage instead of cooperating with other platforms on a common standard
I think this line is a good compromise: “iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations, and anyone can RSVP, regardless of whether they have an Apple Account or Apple device.”
& When I create an Event in the app i see the ability to share via a Public Link, Mail, & Messages
I sent the link - the receiving person has to sign-in into iCloud using their Apple ID to confirm. That process requires them to authenticate with MFA. Once said and done, they finally mark as attending and I get a nice notification with their Apple ID picture and name. I sent it to several people, only one completed it successfully. Rest just gave up at the login stage.
I'm in a birthday party planning group on Signal, which is another app I hadn't used in years. It's easy to forget I have messages there because it's not on my home screen, or the notification settings are different from my normal Messages app, or I just forget to look.
Each time you use a "different" app for something that's not in your habit loop, your response time gets delayed and you're less likely to notice communications. An app needs to get fairly regular use to become as useful as a primary app, even if, from a technical standpoint, there's nothing wrong with them.
Can I send invites from Whatsapp and get responses from people who don't use it?
Honestly I've never received one.
It seems like Apple has some difficulty to adapt to some international audience.
Sure, in an age where every social media app tries to do everything – Reels and statuses and DMs – it's nice to see an app trying to do one thing. Unfortunately, Apple seems to have done everything possible to to stymie it. It'll go the way of Game Central.
Apple Invites requires a mandatory iCloud+ account (minimal 0.99 euro/dollar per month) and a non-anonymous Apple ID requirement with credit card or bank account. It probably has a perpetual lock-in of your invite groups and tracking of all participants as well but I couldn't test this properly without paying 12 Euros.
I coordinate creating events but have to sort through figuring out a date that works for most/everyone. And since I'm coordinating with non-employees (no view into their calendar), figuring out peoples calendar is a main pain.
If this functionality could be added, it'd be game changing for me.
I don't love the idea of Apple dominating this space either, but there's a lot of opportunity to improve things, so I'm glad to see it.
This might integrate better with Calendar and Wallet. That said I can see web and Android users being apprehensive.
Also your Apple ID is t necessarily your “party id“.
Is my social life dead or what are you guys inviting so many people to?
If I want to organize an event, I just write a message in the relevant group chat and get responses about who’s going to come.
This is definitely not for me.
I guess the RSVP thing can be handy for when you're planning especially large events and need an estimate of the guest count. But those kinds of events are extremely few and far between in my life - and it feels tacky to use this for something as formal as a wedding.
Glad other people find it useful though.
Kind of sad, but I should probably be thankful given the direction Google has been moving since.
Shameless plug: I co-own https://gigb.ee , which allows you to create free or paid events, invite people to the event via link, let them get/buy tickets, join waiting list, and you can track your attendee list, check-in and more.
Events can be public (also shown on our landing page) or private (only shown on your own Gigbee page).
For free events, it’s free. For paid events, you only pay per sold ticket (no monthly or upfront fee etc).
Works on any device since it’s a webapp.
Of course Apple could use this to do vendor lock in (only apple users can create invites), but since anyone can join them I don't see it as a large issue.
I think Partiful is pretty good at what it does - no ads, can specify reminders, manages text blasts. The problem, to me, is messaging - how do you tell people about a thing? We are all getting tons of spam texts all day. Apple can cheat here because they own iMessage so maybe they will win overall - but still, what about your android friends? Time will tell. Good luck to everyone organizing events.
You have probably seen CalDAV in action at work with Microsoft’s god awful version of it (via Exchange Server or MS365 or w/e they call it); or Google Workspace or Google Calendar invites.
Across domains, it tends to be a hit or miss (due to proprietary EEE bs) but within the same organizations/domain it works decently enough. Even works well beyond the 100 person limit in “Apple Invites”
Sigh, why do we keep re-creating the wheel.
I'll try to use it on my next event with my friends, as I am avoiding as much as I can Meta, and Calendar / ical are not the best to deal with this kind of event! :)
Signed, an Android user
And Apple is going to solve it!
I gotta take a photo, and then write it down in my calendar by hand.
Just wild really how Meta is letting the advantage they currently have slip through their fingers.
Seems like the main reason I’m seeing in the comments is the event management portion of it, but much like the redesigned Inbox in Mail, could have been an interesting opportunity to rethink the UX of Calendar.
I guarantee the pool of people who really care about those issues/are affected by them is tiny. For example, I use my MacBook daily and haven't noticed any Spotlight issues. I have an iPad too - what's wrong with it? This is coming from someone who works in tech, the average Joe isn't gonna care.
I for one am happy to see an app like this. Currently the only way to get my friends together is through a group chat, and it's always a mess.
It's the same reason people in europe don't use Facetime a lot. Because there's a majority of users on Android. A chat/call app that only works on Apple is more trouble than it is worth.
I suspect Apple has a prioritized list of products that collect personal data that their ecosystem has some of the best potential to disrupt.
In this case, Evite, Partiful and Hobnob have been put on notice as Apples expands its services revenues which have grown to roughly 25% of its annual earnings.
Google made this shift a while ago, but mostly out of necessity to mitigate the impacts of manufacturers failing to release regular OS updates.
Like Apple Intelligence.
I'm happy when friends invite me to an event. I'll less happy they type my email address or phone number into some 3rd party site so be tracked. That includes Apple.
On that note: how to get cross platform shared photo album without pain or google?
I made an app very similar to this (in spirit at least) some years ago and I still think we need more real social like this than social networks.
A couple of downsides with this is:
- Only for Apple users
- Requires iCloud+
Really really dumb to have it require icloud+ however. Why??
This could be a solid play, assuming non-Apple recipients get a decent experience across all of their devices.
This service is only a half-measure (in my mind) because some of the people I want to invite are:
- Not deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem (this is a weak critique, as the invite URL only requires an email address)
- Not tech-savvy enough to manage a response in this way: If I have an Apple account, I have to log in. If I don't, I have to provide my email, enter the code sent to my email, and then remember to click the applicable RSVP option. Add to my calendar? What is an iCal file? Oh, no! I think the event is happening soon... How do I get back to the page with the details?
- Friends of my kids (i.e., children), whose address is the only form of contact info they have. Sometimes events are HOW you get to know the parents, get their contact info.
I feel like a printed + mailed invite _along with_ the evite was a missed slow-pitch:
- It's an ad for Apple (your customers are literally paying YOU to mail advertising material to their friends/family)
- It could easily include the evite URL via QR code + a text number to RSVP (e.g., "text 'yes abc123' to XXXXX to RSVP")
Failing ALL of that, I have a physical invite with the details of the event.
what is unsaid but implied here.
Some of them have Facebook, but turned off all notifications and never check for updates. So they can be counted as not having it.
I agree open standards would always be better, but reality doesn't always work like that and instead everyone just uses Facebook "because it's easy". This is now easier, and more open than Facebook at least.
Pass
It's like the green bubble - blue bubble thing.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/02/introducing-apple-inv...
Not perfect, but something.
On one hand it’s a good thing: so many invite services are coated in ads they deserve to fail. On the other, yet another service getting sucked up into the tech giant blob.
If open formats prevailed we would have expanded calendar invites so they just appear in your inbox like any other email for free. But alas, everyone has given up on that.
More importantly, the release announcement appears lost and betting on a different voting result. It reads weird, not the kind of societal benefits drop used over the last years.
The product launch seems hasty, somewhat not considering the fact that Trump got elected and went full reversal on DEI.
The press feature before Google+ aka Apple Invites was around a special interest topic: https://www.apple.com/ne/newsroom/2025/01/apple-introduces-t...
In contrast, the latest release marks a sharp departure. It is almost clean of pride-/woke-related references: https://www.apple.com/ne/newsroom/search/?q=lgbtq
Thoughts?
I can't imagine something basic like a common Email specification (or Wi-Fi) to ever happen in this industry again...
Silicon valley is entirely out of ideas.
The whole "app for events" experience is a complete piece of crap with the exception of lu.ma perhaps.
"Oh you're not an Apple user, whoops you can't RSVP" is a giant step towards enshittifying them even more.
(In the US)
> Do invitees need to have an Apple device with the app to attend an event?
> Apple Invites is for everyone. Guests don’t need the app, an Apple device, or an account to RSVP to an event.
¹ www.icloud.com/invites
Only paying customers are allowed to construct their digital social life, but at least they're allowed to invite those filthy Android users!