Apple Finally Builds a Facebook Events Rival—But Is It Too Late?

Apple has finally entered the event-planning game. With the launch of Invites, its new native app for organizing gatherings, the company is taking a direct shot at Facebook Events—something that, for years, seemed inevitable but never materialized. The real question: why now?

For nearly two decades, Facebook Events was the default way to plan parties, concerts, and meetups. It had everything: built-in RSVPs, friend notifications, and a massive user base. But as Facebook lost its grip—especially with younger users—its events feature became more of an afterthought than a must-have.

Enter Apple. With Invites, it’s attempting to solve the event-planning problem with a more elegant, iPhone-native experience. Unlike Facebook, which is bogged down by ads and algorithmic noise, Invites is designed to be simple: pick a time, choose a place, and send invites via iMessage. No feeds, no endless notifications—just pure event coordination.

This approach makes sense for Apple’s ecosystem, where iMessage and Apple Calendar already play a big role in social planning. But launching this app now—years after Facebook Events peaked—raises some obvious questions.

First, where does Invites fit in a post-Facebook world? Gen Z never really relied on Facebook for event planning in the first place. They’ve been using apps like Partiful for parties, Google Calendar for serious scheduling, and group chats for everything else. Meanwhile, TikTok has become the go-to place for event discovery.

Second, can Apple succeed where others have failed? Plenty of startups have tried to dethrone Facebook Events, and most have struggled. Even Meta itself couldn’t make a standalone events app work (RIP Facebook Local). Apple has the advantage of default placement on every iPhone, but that doesn’t guarantee people will adopt it.

Ultimately, Invites feels like a classic Apple move—waiting until the right moment to strike. But the problem is, this moment might have passed. If Apple had launched an event-planning app 10 years ago, it could have reshaped how we organize our social lives. Now? It’s fighting for relevance in a space that’s already evolved past Facebook Events entirely.