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Apple Invites

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Re: Apple Invites

#801

Post by Schiendelman »

worthless-trash wrote: post #671
Schiendelman wrote: post #565

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried using RCS when you're used to iMessage? It's terrible . Constant failures, weird behavior when changing towers between telcos - not to mention what happens when traveling internationally, where RCS turns on, off, on, off... for a day after arrival. And of course there's no encryption standard.

I use it every day and across multiple countries in Asia Pacific with no issues. Maybe its your phone going overseas and not working correctly.

On what device?

Re: Apple Invites

#802

Post by pmontra »

lloeki wrote: post #724
viraptor wrote: post #688

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can switch. But now you also need to convince a random person that they should switch, because you can't easily use what they're using. And you may be the only one out of 10 people in the group complaining about it. Instead of their technical problem, Apple can make it a "you" social problem.

Still valid for: s/Apple Invites/Meta Messenger groups/ s/Apple Invites/Facebook events/ s/Apple Invites/WhatsApp groups/ s/Apple Invites/Telegram groups s/Apple Invites/doodle.com/ These are the things people use around here to organise events. Four of those require a persistent account and an app, three of those are Meta for which I'm the loner yelling that I won't touch them with a 10 yard pole and a hazmat suit.…

The difference is that all of them work cross devices. That's why I only get video calls with WhatsApp and I never get one using one of the many video call apps of Google. I learned today, by reading this thread, that somebody could have sent me a link to a Facetime call. I never got one. Everybody in my country use WhatsApp for video calls (maybe somebody is videocalling with Facebook Messenger or Facetime, very few with Telegram) and nobody has to worry about which mobile OS the other person have. WhatsApp has commoditized both iPhones and Androids here. When people choose to buy a phone they don't think about how they'll make calls or send messages. They install WhatsApp, because they have to or they won't call and message a lot of people, and the problem is solved.

Edit: by the way, probably every single phone has builtin interoperable 1 to 1 video calls from the days of 3G. I remember testing them in late 2002 / early 2003. They worked and probably still work unless they retired the standard because everybody is using apps.

Re: Apple Invites

#803

Post by teitoklien »

n0rdy wrote: post #405

I have 2 conflicting feelings about this: - I'm glad to see this, as it might be an easily accessible alternative to Facebook events, which I tend to miss as I'm checking my FB only once in a while - on the other hand, each new Apple release adds apps that might kill some small start-ups that are offering similar services for the small fee. Having a free alternative on your phone out of the box with most of your cont…

Not necessarily, I used to use Apple Reminders initially because it was free, i found the value of a good TODOs app by using it extensively.

Then once I loved using Todo apps, I migrated to Todoist and started paying for a Todo app.

Apple Reminders is the reason why I pay for Todoist app, it helped me learn it, same reason why I moved from free iMovies app to a paid video editing app.

Same reason why I moved from Free Apple Notes to Bear Notes + Muse App (both paid subscriptions)

In a way, provided other apps keep accelerating and moving ahead of apple, apple’s free apps kinda end up working as free trial sessions for showcasing the Utility of a good App.

Also, its a good thing apple ends up commoditizing free entry-level apps, there’s a billion software out there to build for different industries, its the only way, the prices of software will fall, which means more money in our pockets to spend on other things. So it’s fine, just as long as people don’t forget to innovate, that’s the way a free market should be.

What is anti-competitive tho, is stuff like Apple Music and Spotify, where spotify has to pay 30% cut to apple while apple music doesnt have to pay anything. But as long as apple is commoditizing entry-level apps, for other fast moving startups that can be a good thing, as they can show better value to customers who already have tried out free apple apps and see the value of those softwares.

I would have never paid for all those apps each month, were it not for apple’s free apps that helped me see the value in it.

Re: Apple Invites

#805

Post by GiorgioG »

abenga wrote: post #778
pinoy420 wrote: post #733

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is this a problem? Typical HN downvoting because of “muh vendor lockin” without giving an answer as to why exactly this matters for the general population. It is a fantastic business model.

Because we want to interact with our friends and family without being forced to switch platforms. I don't care about Apple's business model.

The self-entitlement is getting old. Nobody's forcing you to switch platforms. If your Apple-friends send you an invite, you will not be shunned from the event. Yes even the uncool non-Apple users will be allowed to participate in said invite.

Re: Apple Invites

#806

Post by rcarmo »

kthartic wrote: post #792
rcarmo wrote: post #787

I have an idea about why Apple is doing this, but my key takeaway is that they should really read the room and sort out their QA (Spotlight is broken in the latest Sequoia) and platform strategy (the iPad is still gimped) instead of spending engineering resources in another Clips-like fiasco.

> my key takeaway is that they should really read the room I guarantee the pool of people who really care about those issues/are affected by them is tiny. For example, I use my MacBook daily and haven't noticed any Spotlight issues. I have an iPad too - what's wrong with it? This is coming from someone who works in tech, the average Joe isn't gonna care. I for one am happy to see an app like this. Currently the only…

You should see what the app actually _does_, which is fairly useless. I would describe it, but Michael Tsai already did it for me: https://mjtsai.com/blog/2025/02/04/apple-invites/

Re: Apple Invites

#807

Post by e-clinton »

yumraj wrote: post #437
lordofgibbons wrote: post #362

I really hope this fails. Apple will use it's dominant position to create lock in like how they did with iMessage instead of cooperating with other platforms on a common standard. Oder friends and family are surprised when they want to video call over Facetime and find it hard to believe other people's phones don't have Apple apps.

But isn’t that the same when people and schools create effing Facebook groups and events or whatever they are called and find it hard to believe that people don’t use that crap. Or create WhatsApp groups and communities and so on and on.

Hard to believe? Where have you been? What other platform has billions of users that everyone should use instead?

Re: Apple Invites

#808

Post by yurishimo »

basisword wrote: post #791
pkamb wrote: post #312

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As I understand it, many Americans (and all iPhones?) had unlimited-SMS phone plans circa 2009. So the pay-per-message economic conditions that caused many Europeans, etc., to switch to WhatsApp back in the day didn't do anything in the USA. Then when the same iPhone app seamlessly started sending iMessages (blue bubbles) to other iPhones rather than SMS (green bubbles), people just kept using that.

>> So the pay-per-message economic conditions that caused many Europeans, etc., to switch to WhatsApp back in the day didn't do anything in the USA. I see this listed as the reason often but I had unlimited SMS then too. In fact I remember visiting the US in 2009 and I was charged to send AND receive an SMS which was a shock. I think the actual reason is that communication across borders in Europe is very common and…

Yepp, this is my theory too. When you live in a country with friends 2 hours away by car in a totally different country, paying extra for "long distance" is absurd when tools exist to communicate with no extra fees.

Re: Apple Invites

#810

Post by prepend »

lordofgibbons wrote: post #362

I really hope this fails. Apple will use it's dominant position to create lock in like how they did with iMessage instead of cooperating with other platforms on a common standard. Oder friends and family are surprised when they want to video call over Facetime and find it hard to believe other people's phones don't have Apple apps.

I disagree. Electronic invites should be easy peasy, but they kind of suck. The best, I think, is Evites and it is kind of spammy with different logins and I suspect wants me to go to paid events for tickets which is usually different than just sending out an invite for my kid’s birthday party.

Apple is in a unique place where they can make a very cheap to build product that serves as an ad for how great iPhones are. And not try to sell me anything else. Just an invite that tracks who said yes and who said no.

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