Here’s How Apple Invites Work On Android [Gallery]

Apple just launched its latest app, Apple Invites, which allows for a quick and easy way to send out invitations to an event. But, how does that work for an Android user? We’ve tested out how Apple Invites will work for Android users, and it’s surprisingly well done.

Apple Invites is a new service provided through iCloud. As our sister site 9to5Mac was first to report, the service allows users to set up events and both send out an manage invitations through their iCloud account or the new Apple Invites app on iPhone. Apple was quick to point out, though, that the service does work if the recipients don’t have an iPhone.

We’ve since tested out how this works, and the web experience isn’t half bad.

An iPhone user can send you an invitation either via email or through a direct link. On opening the the invite, you’ll be asked to enter an email address and verify that email. You can then enter your RSVP status and see details about the event including (as the event date nears) the weather. There’s also a map location and you can see a list of other attendees.

A Settings menu allows you to leave the event or report it, as well as manage notifications. Notifications for an event are sent if there’s a message for the event or any kind of change. These arrive via email with a link to see the message.

Of course, you won’t leave this webpage open forever. Since there’s no Apple Invites app on Android, you’ll instead have the option to download the calendar event file and add it to the calendar app of your choice. This works well enough, but we noticed that the iCloud invites link in the event is entirely generic, where if you save an event to Apple’s Calendar app on iOS, you get a direct link to this specific event. This doesn’t change if you’re signed into an iCloud account.

Another drawback is that you can’t use or even view photos without an iCloud account. Photo sharing is perhaps the biggest draw of Apple Invites over alternatives, so this is a bit of a frustrating hurdle for those who aren’t using an iPhone. If you are signed in, you can both see and add photos to the event’s album. Those images don’t need to be backed up to iCloud and can just be uploaded from your Android phone’s file picker. iCloud accounts are free, though, and you won’t need an iCloud subscription to add photos to the event, either. It’s a little annoying, but it’s nothing you wouldn’t see if Google or really any other company were doing the same thing.

You can also see Apple Music playlists for the event if they’re enabled for that event.

While Apple Invites won’t work perfectly for Android users, it’s no worse than any other existing e-invite services available today. It’s good to see that Apple is extending this service beyond its walled garden at all, as the “green bubble” situation would be even more of a headache if an app like this was locked down as tightly.

And Android users should definitely get used to seeing these. With the barrier of entry to sending out invitations via Apple Invites being just a $0.99/month iCloud+ subscription (which most iPhone users need for the sake of backups anyway), this app is very likely to pick up traction quickly.

What do you think of Apple Invites? Follow 9to5Mac for further coverage on Apple’s latest app.

Max Weinbach contributed to this post.

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