Oh, Partiful. Your time in the sun mostly uncontested was brief but bright. Ever since you came to iOS and Android in 2024, you’ve become the go-to app for damn near every birthday, art show, concert, and surprise party invite.
But if ’80s coming-of-age movies have taught me anything, it’s that when the richest kid in school sees a “who’s that” becoming most popular in anything, they have to reach out and take away the crown. Big Tech is nothing if not a perpetual high school drama.
a (semi-)exclusive guest list
Apple launched Invites today, an app that lets you set an event’s date, time, and location, with a customizable title and background photos, and then blast it out to everyone you hope will attend.
Invitees then RSVP whether they can attend, giving the host (and everyone else who RSVPs “yes”) an idea of who’s showing up and who can’t make it.
Hosts and attendees alike can send texts through the app to the wider group, updating them in case, say, there’s a lot of traffic on the road, if the location changes, or instructions on how to find the apartment entrance.
Invites is only available as an iOS app for the iPhone. As of right now, there’s no app for macOS for Mac computers or iPadOS or iPad tablets, but you can also access it through iCloud on any machine’s internet browser.
Downloading Invites is free, but using it to plan events and invite people to them requires an iCloud+ account. The lowest tier of iCloud+ only costs $0.99 a month, though, so it’s not much of an expense.
But hey, every micro-transaction is still a transaction and a potential stumbling block to get iPhone users to try it out. It’s a curious decision for Apple to make and the one most likely to depress initial efforts to get enough people using it to threaten Partiful’s stranglehold.
Non-Apple users aren’t left entirely out in the cold. Anybody can receive invites from, er, Invites and RSVP to them without using the Invites app, an Apple device, or creating an account with Invites.
That’s one leg up on Partiful, which does require you to create an account to RSVP to events you’re invited to. It’s free and takes only a moment, though, so it’s not much of a stumbling block.
Shared photo albums is a neat, though not unique, feature that lets all invitees contribute their photos of the event. Partiful also has the ability for attendees to post their photos for everyone to see and save. Invites integrates with Apple Music through shared playlists as well.
Invites caps your invitations list to 100 guests, which seems more than enough for most house parties, backyard barbecues, graduations, and the like. But if you’re thinking more on the scale of a wedding, Partiful lets you invite up to 1,000 guests to RSVP to an event.
Can the new kid at school, Partiful, hang onto its relatively newfound popularity? Or will the king of the school Apple run them out of town, probably at a dance or pep rally? Tune in for the next episode of Silicon Valley High.
The post Apple Invites Itself to the Cool Kids Table With a New Party Planning App appeared first on VICE.
