Apple has a new iPhone app in the App Store for creating custom invitations to events and managing guests. Invitations include the date and time of the event, location, a preview of the weather, and yes, you can use Image Playgrounds to create artwork for the event:
From the app you can create a shared photo album for the event and add an Apple Music playlist as well. Once an invitation is shared, guests can RSVP, leave comments, add the event to their calendar, and even be allowed to bring additional guests.
I have no idea how popular this app is going to be, but compared to a bunch of online tools for managing events, this is very polished. Some of the websites I get sent for things like school events are truly awful, yet getting a bunch of folks to use iCloud on the web or download an app seems like a high bar.
Here is a bit from the company’s press release:
With Apple Invites, users can create and easily share invitations, RSVP, contribute to Shared Albums, and engage with Apple Music playlists. Starting today, users can download Apple Invites from the App Store, or access it on the web through icloud.com/invites. iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations, and anyone can RSVP, regardless of whether they have an Apple Account or Apple device.
“With Apple Invites, an event comes to life from the moment the invitation is created, and users can share lasting memories even after they get together,” said Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple’s senior director of Worldwide Product Marketing for Apps and iCloud. “Apple Invites brings together capabilities our users already know and love across iPhone, iCloud, and Apple Music, making it easy to plan special events.”
While it’s great this is available on the web, I can’t help but think that making it part of a paid iCloud subscription is going to limit its adoption.
… and I worry about Invites’ long-term prospects given Apple’s habit of launching iPhone apps to just forget about them or quietly kill them years later. (Cards, Music Memos, and Clips all come to mind.)