Apple surprised almost everyone a week ago and launched a brand new app and service called Invites. The weird part? The launch has invited a ton of undue criticism over Apple’s app strategy — as though Apple were Google.
Google is notorious for launching new apps and services, only to discontinue them or roll them into another service altogether. Google Podcasts is a recent offender, but there is a whole graveyard full of examples.
This same problem has been attributed to Apple after the launch of its Invites app. But does Apple really abandon its so-called hobby apps?
Far from zombie apps
We’ve had a full year of Apple Sports app updates. The general consensus is that Sports has improved over time, and the app is becoming a crowd favorite. Users like Apple Sports enough to want a widget. Despite having no paid component, Apple Sports is far from abandoned.
Apple’s Journal app debuted with iOS 17.2 in December 2023. Less than a year later, version 2.0 arrived in iOS 18 with plenty of new features. These include highly requested search and sort tools, audio transcripts, rich text formatting, Home screen and Lock screen widgets, mindfulness tracking, a new insights feature, and PDF exporting/printing. Biggest missing feature? An iPad app — not a lack of updates.
Apple Music Classical launched as an iPhone-only app before adding an iPad app in version 1.1. Four months ago, Apple released version 1.0 with album booklets for thousands of albums. More recently, Apple released a CarPlay app and support for Siri.
Music Memos died in name only
But what about Music Memos? Apple learned how musicians were using Voice Memos to create recordings that were actually being used in released tracks. Apple added some additional features ordinarily found in GarageBand, but it turned out artists just liked recording their voice and instruments and didn’t need virtual instruments thrown on top.
The result was a fun app that existed for five years. During this period, Apple watched and learned as musicians continued to find value in the built-in Voice Memos app. So what did Apple do? Discontinue Music Memos and enhance Voice Memos.
The latest update to Voice Memos even adds the ability to record one track with the iPhone mic, play it back with the iPhone speaker, and record a second track on top without interference from the first track being played. This simple two-track feature is tremendous for songwriting with a voice and guitar.
Clips is alive and well in the classroom
Even Apple Clips has been updated recently — kidding! — but a single, nearly complete app does not constitute a trail of abandoned software. In fact, Clips has taken on a second life in the classroom thanks to royalty-free music, exportable templates that teachers can create, and fun and expressive features that inspire kids.
If anything, Clips should probably be left alone while Apple creates an easier-to-use version of CapCut that isn’t owned by TikTok’s ByteDance.
Apple’s hobby apps surpass their reputation as being one-off projects championed by summer interns. They’re not just apps that remain products in Apple’s lineup.
The future of Apple Invites probably starts with native integration with the Calendar app’s event composer and pre-installation on new iPhones.
The future of Apple Invites relies on the app’s ability to convert users to iCloud+ subscriptions and on having an executive like Eddy Cue to champion the product (see Apple Sports).
In short, reports of Apple app deaths are greatly exaggerated.
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