It looks like a new app, called Invites, will be release by Apple in the coming days. Invites will help people organise parties, meetings and other functions. Reports say the new service, codenamed ‘Confetti’ will be tied to iCloud, signalling Apple’s continued focus on adding functions to its fast-growing service business.
While Apple’s Calendar app received some love as part of iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS 15, it has not fundamentally changed for the last few years. The recent integration of Reminders into the calendar and ability to create new items through natural language has the potential to Sherlock a number of third-party calendar apps like Fantastical. But these have been relatively minor changes that have been more about keeping up with third-parties rather than ushering in anything new.
The event invitation space is already quite busy. Many CRM apps, such as HubSpot and Salesforce, have envied invitation and management functions. But these are often too expensive or complex for small businesses. And while Eventbrite is popular, there may be some businesses that are not tech-savvy enough to source and set up a third-party service.
Invites may provide individuals and small businesses with the tools they need to create meetings and events. And if it integrates nicely with FaceTime – which would be a neat integration – then setting up online meetings might even start to take a few people away from the likes of Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
While there has been some speculation that the new service will be integrated into Calendar, it’s more likely that we’ll see an all new app appear via the App Store next week.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.