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It's always nice to see some first-party apps from Apple[0], but historically the "iPhone-only social networking" hasn't been very successful — iTunes Ping or G
by maratc 2y ago
It's always nice to see some first-party apps from Apple[0], but historically the "iPhone-only social networking" hasn't been very successful — iTunes Ping or Game Center haven't been a huge hit, while group messaging in iMessage has only gained some traction within the US and virtually non-existent almost everywhere else.
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[0] One can even say "first first-party party app" in this case :)
- infecto 2y agoIn this case they don't need an Iphone to RSVP though. Seems like a good implementation. The challenge is for the organizer not the folks rsvping.
- Jeremy1026 2y agoFortunately you don't need everyone to be on iOS to reply. So you can send your Android using friends invited and they'll just get a weblink.
- Mindwipe 2y agoIt still requires people to read a text message. It may as well be delivered via carrier pigeon outside the US.
- barbazoo 2y agoGenuine question, is SMS text delivery unreliable where in certain countries?
- ASalazarMX 2y agoIt's unneeded because phones have affordable/free access to the Internet these days, SMS is a relic of the 20th century.
- cyberax 2y agoAnd the alternative on iOS is...? What exactly? RCS is a flaming trash dump of failure.
- ZekeSulastin 2y agoOther messaging platforms; the one most commonly cited seems to be WhatsApp.
- cyberax 2y agoOn iOS? Don't make me laugh. Apple will die before they implement custom configurable messaging providers in iOS.
- ghaff 2y agoApple may not be exactly jumping in joy about it but, even if it's mostly only useful for people in the US, they probably don't see that as a showstopper either.
- patrickkidger 2y agoI have a US number and live in Switzerland. At least for me, I only receive SMS messages whenever I visit the US -- the rest of the time they're just dropped and I'll never see them. (Doesn't really bother me, my friends and I all use WhatsApp/etc. anyway.) n=1 though, maybe this is some quirk of my phone provider.
- astrange 2y agoSomehow they're unreliable just in the US. I had someone think I was mad at them because when I texted them to hang out it never made it. Had to remember to switch messaging apps. I think they were on a cheap prepaid plan though.
- jandrewrogers 2y agoSMS text delivery has always been sporadically unreliable for me. The cases where the messages are delayed by several minutes or hours are almost as problematic as the cases where they never arrive at all. It doesn't seem to be specific to any country, though some are worse than others. Definitely seems to be a "best effort" service everywhere.
- pkamb 2y agoiMessage/SMS is just one of the many sending options in the share sheet. WhatsApp or whatever your country uses will be there too.
- eloisant 2y agoSo that's a green bubble situation. You get a subpar experience, your iPhone friends get a subpar experience from including you, and eventually they'll yell at you "well just get an iPhone already!"
- ghaff 2y agoI don't really see that at all. I have a circle of friends, some of whom have iPhones and some not (to say nothing of companies/doctors sending me reminders and the like), and the non-iPhones seem to work just fine. I sure don't care what color their text bubble is.
- barbazoo 2y agoWill it show them as green or blue though? :)
- ASalazarMX 2y agoUnfortunately you need an iPhone to create the invite, or contribute anything else than a reply. They have to know their uncoolness is tolerated but not welcomed in the walled garden.
- r00fus 2y agoMission Accomplished. iOS is a significantly large enough market that it will have some success for those looking to replace FB/evite. You can say the same thing about FB/Whatsapp or any other social network - you have to be in-network to get the invite even. Looking forward to testing this out for some events.
- Synaesthesia 2y agoIn the US yeah it is. In the rest of the world, not so much.
- criddell 2y agoThe US market is probably big enough to make the service a success. Sometimes you don't need to be the biggest to be good enough.
- joshuamorton 2y agoMost social networks don't have a $5-600 buy-in cost though.
- baggachipz 2y agoI sure wish they did. It would reduce the number of bots to nearly zero.
- in_cahoots 2y agoI just spent $70 to send out birthday party invites to 40 parents on Evite. The free version sends an invite with ads, links to Amazon, and other tacky stuff. As an iPhone user with two kids switching to iCloud+ is cheaper than the alternatives. And I think many other parents will agree.
- crossroadsguy 2y agoIf you have watched the launch video, and if there was one to begin with, did they say [First Time Ever in an iCloud+ Account]™?
- sambamonkey 2y agoI'm unclear what your comment has to do with this app, which isn't a social network, and which communicates just fine with other phones.
- pgwhalen 2y ago“iPhone-only social networking” has been very successful (amongst my US-based peer group, at least), once you include iMessage - that’s the point. I don’t know much about apple invites, but if it integrates well into iMessaging then this is a very strong play.
- ghaff 2y agoThough iMessage largely works in part because it's pretty much transparent if you send a text message.
- pgwhalen 2y agoI’m not sure I understand the “though” in this message but yeah, definitely the user interface of this social network is messaging.
- ghaff 2y agoJust the way I wrote the reply. It's unnecessary. Yes, you send a text and it's iMessage or not iMessage. Doesn't matter. There are some nuances if you're on your Mac with your phone off/on an international SIM (which I admit to not totally understanding).
- saghm 2y agoIf the plethora of iCalendar email attachments I've seen over the years (despite not owning any Apple devices or using their software) is any indication, I'm not sure that only being on Apple devices will be a significant barrier to people trying to coordinate stuff with this.
- paradox460 2y agoiCalendar files predate Mac OS X, and are an ietf standard