Use Apple Invites to Organize Your Next Event
Apple's new event planning app lets you gather friends and family in one place—even if they're on Android.
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Apple wants to make your events run more smoothly. It has just launched Apple Invites, an app on the iPhone and the web that lets you schedule occasions, invite people to them, and share any related photos and music with your guests.
If you're an iCloud+ subscriber—so if you pay Apple money for iCloud storage—you can create and manage events, while everyone else is able to respond to invites and participate on event pages. (Yes, even Android users, via the web.)
Whether or not you've already got a favorite event planning app in place, Apple Invites is worth a look to check out its features and capabilities—especially if you're an iPhone and iCloud+ user. Creating and Managing Events
Apple is clearly keen to make the event creation process as straightforward as possible in Apple Invites: From the front screen of the iPhone app, tap the + (plus) button in the top right corner, and you can start building your invite. You've got a few bits of information to fill out here, including the all-important event date and start time.
Tap Add Background to create a backdrop to your event listing, which will replace the colored gradient that's there by default. You can pick an image out from the selection provided, choose a picture from your camera roll, or generate something with AI by tapping on the Playground button.
You're able to attach times, a location, and music to an invite. Courtesy of David Nield
You'll see you can adjust details like the font size for the event invitation, and you'll also see a weather forecast for the event day (if one is available). Choose to add a location to the event—handy if you want people to find it—and the app attaches a map of where the occasion is being held too.
Further down the invite creation screen are a couple of fun features: Tap Create Album to attach some photos to the invite, and Add Playlist to build a playlist for the event in Apple Music. You can choose to manage these yourself, or let your guests contribute photos and playlists. Both the photos and music can be added to during the event too.
Invites are shared via a link. Courtesy of David Nield
All of these details can be changed if needed as the event approaches. When the invite's ready, tap Preview to see how it looks, then Next to specify the people you want to invite—the invite link can be shared across just about any app or platform you like. Turn on the Approve Guests toggle switch to approve guests before they join, otherwise anyone who comes across the link or has it forwarded to them will be able to get involved.
Tap the options button (an icon showing three sliders, top right), and you can make more tweaks to the invite: You're able to specify how many guests your invited contacts can bring (if any), and remove the background preview for anyone who hasn't been approved as a guest. There are also options to duplicate and cancel the event here. Responding to Invites and Participating
However your guests get their invite link, they'll be able to tap on it to respond. iPhone owners with Apple Invites installed will get directed to the app, while everyone else will be able to view the invite on the web. If you've turned on guest approval, the contacts you've invited need to request access before they can see the invite.
The first order of business on the invite is to respond to it: Going, Not Going, and Maybe are the choices, with the option to attach a message if needed. The RSVP response can be changed at any point, and both hosts and fellow guests can see a list of everyone who's attending on the event page.
There are three RSVP options. Courtesy of David Nield
If photo albums and playlists have been created, guests can view them from the event page, alongside all the other event details. Guests can also add photos to the event album, if sharing access has been granted, and contribute songs to the event playlist—as long as they're signed up for Apple Music.
There are a few guest settings, which can be found by tapping the options button (three sliders, top right). As a guest, you're able to leave the event completely, and specify whether or not you get email notifications about it—which can come in handy if the host changes key details.
Events can be added to a calendar app. Courtesy of David Nield
Everything works in a similar way in the iCloud interface: Hosts and guests can see all the details about events, including playlists and photos, while hosts can make any changes they want. More guests can be invited at any point, and it's possible to kick out guests that have already been invited too.
The iOS and web Apple Invite apps do a capable job of showing all the events you've created and are going to, and you can scroll through them in chronological order. Both guests and hosts also have the option to add events to their calendar. (Apple Calendar is supported natively, but you can also export a standard ICS calendar event file for use in the calendar app of your choice.)
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