Apple Unveils Revamped Calendar App: Confetti or Invites

Breaking News

In a surprise move, Apple has announced the launch of a revamped calendar app, codenamed "Confetti" or "Invites," which is expected to debut with iOS 18.3. This new app is an iCloud-based calendar solution that promises to revolutionize the way users manage events and invitations.

Background

Apple has been working on revamping its calendar app for years, and this new app is the first stage of that change. According to Bloomberg, the festive-sounding codename "Confetti" could be Apple’s way of making the typically stuffy and regimented calendar app more appealing. The app will focus on sending and receiving invitations and managing guest lists, similar to Evite, Partiful, and Facebook.

Speculation and Rumors

This rumor has been circulating for a while, with 9to5Mac being one of the first to report on it after discovering the app’s beta code in iOS 18.3. The blog’s code sleuths also found a web version of the invitations, suggesting that this is a way for Apple users to replace third-party invite services with a more integrated and proprietary solution. However, it’s unclear how this will work with non-Apple-using users.

Key Features

Invites would likely feed into Apple Intelligence, which is the name of the game lately in consumer technology. The app would pull data from an iOS daemon called GroupKit, which manages database models for groups of people based on your contacts. Apple Intelligence could be the brain that manages those lists for you and suggests them when the timing is right based on the type of event you’re hosting and who you’re inviting.

Advantages Over Competitors

Other tidbits to know about Confetti or Invites include that it’s likely to be ad- and tracker-free, making it a better choice than Facebook and other competitors. This aligns with Apple’s ongoing efforts to polish its privacy narrative. There may also be Apple Photos integration for the ease of collecting pictures after the event and multiple calendar integration.

Launch and Availability

The advent of Confetti or Invites will likely coincide with another iOS 18.3 push, which started rolling out to iPhones and iPads last month. According to 9to5Mac, we’re just waiting for Apple to activate it.