Apple Invites (iPhone)

This user guide will walk you through everything you need to know about Apple Invites to create digital invitations that you can share with anyone.

Orientation

• Apple Invites is a new app from Apple for creating digital invitations for events you are planning to host. These could be parties, movie nights, prayer meetings; anything you can think of. It is available to all iCloud+ subscribers, but everyone else (including Android users) can only accept invitations they receive. If you want the ability to create invitations that you can send out, then you need an iCloud+ subscription.
• Apple Invites is available for iPhones running iOS18. You can download it from the App Store, even on the iPad. But, it’s definitely not designed for the iPad. The web app is accessible on any device, so that’s how Android and Windows users will be able to accept invitations.
• Everything happens on the one screen, the app has a minimalist design that makes it very intuitive to use. You can see all the events that are lined up for you under Upcoming (top left corner). These are the events you’re going to attend, and the ones you’re hosting are clearly marked. You can also see Past Events, Drafts (which are the events you’re still working on), those you’re Hosting, and the ones you’re simply Attending.
• Each event occupies its own space, with a summary of what the event is about, when it is and other important information you’ll need to know. The only problem with this setup is that even when you have multiple events in a single day, they each occupy a separate space. It would have been nice if those got grouped according to the dates, on a single screen. Simply tap an event to see more details if you need them.
• The profile information is your Apple Account. You can turn on Push Notifications > Allow Notifications on This Device > Continue (bottom) > Allow. I usually keep these off, but since this is a new app, we need to study how these work before we turn them off. But, I am still going to turn off the notifications from Apple, because I am not that eager. You can also opt in for Email Updates, but, phone notifications are probably easier than going through your email. That was a quick orientation for Apple Invites, in the next lesson we’ll be creating an event.

New invites

• Creating a new invite is easy (plus icon, top right corner). From the top going down, you can add a background (Add Background or tap photo icon). It can either be from the Photos Library, your iPhone Camera or from Playground. The app also some backgrounds and colours that you can use. Let’s pick one from the options we have. You can always edit the background (Edit Background) if you’re not happy with how it looks. Adjusting (Adjust Background) will let you zoom in an out of the image as a way to crop out certain parts. For the image I chose, I don’t think that’s working. So, let’s just change the background altogether (Edit Background > Change Background).
• An Event Title is what you’re hosting and it can be one of four fonts. The first one looks better for me, so, I’ll just go back to the first one. 
• Date and Time: your event can either be an All-day event, or end at a specific time (Include End Time). For which case you have to add a start and end times. You can choose to add a location as well. Mine is simple, it’s at my house and it’s my current location so that’s what I am going to add.
• Event description gives everyone some important details you want them to know about the event. You can create an album (Create Album) for the event that you can rename if you want. Lastly, you can add a playlist (Add Playlist) from Apple Music. You can Preview (top right corner) the invitation and Next will prepare it for you. 
• There are two ways to share an invitation in Apple Invites. You can create a public link to share with anyone. If you want to control who comes to your event, turn on Approve Guests. I am going to invite individuals in my Contacts, and I have allowed the app to access only one contact, and he’s the one I will invite to my Dinner party. I can invite him via Messages or share a link with him (Share Link). Now, you just have to wait for responses from your guests.