Apple Launches 'Invites', a New Event Planning App

Apple Launches 'Invites', a New Event Planning App
Credit: Apple, Inc.

Apple has unveiled a new app called Invites, allowing iPhone users to create, send, and manage event invitations seamlessly. The app integrates deeply with Apple’s ecosystem, offering features like RSVP tracking, shared albums, and event soundtracks.

Key Features of Apple Invites

  • Custom Invitations: Users can design invites using their own photos or Apple’s built-in gallery.
  • Maps & Weather Integration: Provides guests with directions and event-day weather updates.
  • Shared Album Contributions: Attendees can add photos and videos to a collective event album.
  • Collaborative Playlists: Apple Music subscribers can curate event soundtracks accessible from the invite.
  • AI-Powered Assistance: Apple Intelligence offers writing tools to help users craft invitations.

Competition and “Sherlocking” Concerns

The launch of Invites has raised concerns about Apple’s pattern of “Sherlocking”—introducing features that compete with existing third-party apps. Partiful, a well-known invitation app and Google Play’s Best App of 2024, has already responded, hinting that Apple’s new app closely mirrors its functionality. Other competitors include Posh, Evite, Paperless Post, and Sendo Invitations.

Who Can Use Apple Invites?

  • iCloud+ Required for Creation: Users must have an iCloud+ subscription to create invitations.
  • RSVP Open to All: Anyone, regardless of their Apple account status, can respond via the app or web.
  • Privacy Controls: Hosts can manage event visibility, while guests control how their information appears.

Availability

Apple Invites is free on the App Store for all iPhone models running iOS 18 or later.

Apple continues to expand its ecosystem, and Invites is another step toward making event planning a seamless, Apple-exclusive experience. Whether it overtakes existing players remains to be seen, but one thing is clear—Apple is making sure its users never have to leave its walled garden.

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