Apple's Launches 2 New Apps: "Find My Friends" and "Cards"

At the iPhone 4S launch event today, Apple launched two new apps: Find My Friends, and Cards.

8f537845 abfc 4e45 b2cd d6435233c860
Cards is an iOS version of the greeting card-maker built-in to iPhoto, but with a twist -- instead of printing and shipping cards to the user, who then has to buy stamps, address and mail the cards -- Apple takes care of printing, mailing, and postage and sends the card directly to the recipient, with a push notification going to the senders iPhone upon delivery.

As iOS SVP Scott Forstall explains, "you create the card on your iPhone, and we'll do the rest."

Users will take pictures, design the card (choosing from 21 different designs), customize the greeting and Apple takes care of the rest. Cards will cost $2.99 each when mailed within the US, $4.99 internationally. The Cards app itself will be a free download, launching October 12th, with iOS 5.

gdgt iphone 5 event 029
Apple's "Find My Friends" feature was hinted at earlier this year, and has now arrived as an App to locate (with permission) users' friends and family with iOS devices on a map, much like Google Latitude.

Users can easily set privacy controls including only sharing location during certain times of day and more. “At the end of the day, location sharing stops automatically. Easily locate friends and family, temp sharing options, simple privacy controls…”

Find My Friends is free with iOS 5 and will launch October 12.

Cards image courtesy This Is My Next

Find My Friends image courtesy GDGT

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

'New' iPhone SE Product Listing Appears on French Website

Wednesday February 12, 2025 6:49 am PST by
As the wait continues for Apple's long-rumored, fourth-generation iPhone SE, French electronics retailer Boulanger has prematurely published a product listing for a "new" model of the iPhone SE. The placeholder page says the device is "coming soon," but it offers no further information, and the price shown is obviously not real. The listing was spotted by a reader of the French technology...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
apple launch feb 2025

Tim Cook Teases an 'Apple Launch' Next Wednesday

Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag. The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle. Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
M4 Mac mini Apple Video

Apple's Refurbished Mac Mini Pricing Has a Problem

Thursday February 13, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple this week began selling refurbished Mac mini models with the M4 chip for the first time, but this has led to a pricing conundrum. In the United States, Apple is offering a refurbished Mac mini with the base M4 chip, 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM, and Gigabit Ethernet for $509, down from $599 new. This is the standard 15% discount that Apple offers on refurbished Macs. The issue is...
M4 mini Glowing Blue

Apple Begins Selling Refurbished M4 Macs

Wednesday February 12, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today added MacBook Pro and Mac mini models with M4 series chips to its certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland for the first time since the computers were introduced in October 2024. Some refurbished MacBook Pro models with M4 chips are also available in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and select other European countries. ...
iPhone 16 Apple Store

iPhone 17 in New Sizes This Year: What to Know

Thursday February 13, 2025 2:45 am PST by
Last year, Apple tweaked iPhone 16 Pro screen sizes to make them bigger than 2023's iPhone 15 Pro models, and this year we are also expecting a change in the size of the displays in the iPhone 17 lineup. Here's what we know. Standard iPhone 17 Apple could introduce a new display size for the standard iPhone 17 model in 2025. The iPhone 17 could measure in at 6.3 inches, up from 6.1 inches,...
Apple Ad on X

Apple Resumes Advertising on X

Wednesday February 12, 2025 2:18 pm PST by
Apple this month started advertising on X for the first time in more than a year. The company had stopped advertising on the social media platform in November 2023 following controversial remarks made by its owner Elon Musk. For example, the @Apple account is running an ad promoting Safari's privacy features. The ad was spotted by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The @AppleTV account has a...

Top Rated Comments

None Such Avatar
175 months ago
"Find My Friends" is bad news. It might as well be called Husband Tracker. You know you can't refuse to share your location with your wife.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nicky G Avatar
175 months ago
Bah -- who needs an iPhone 5, when I have... CARDS! :rolleyes:
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
175 months ago
Oh no, iCards lives! :eek:

Actually this solves a real-world problem for me—I’m ALWAYS really lame about getting cards out when I should.

And I could use my own art (even painted on iPad) instead of photos, so they'd be more personal than a store-bought card too.

Was this some manager's pet project that they managed to get approved? With all Apple is doing, starting to compete against Hallmark and getting into the printing business seems an odd choice.

Apple’s been printing cards, via iPhoto’s service, for years. This is an evolution of that. Only a small feature. But what’s wrong with developing small features sometimes? I’d hate to use a platform with only the big features!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HiRez Avatar
175 months ago
I thought I was on the Onion site... this is... an Apple without Steve Jobs.

I was waiting for him to say "We believe the future is in printers!" Seriously, there is nothing wrong with a cards service, but I think it left a bad impression to lead off with that because you know everyone in the audience (and investors watching from home) was thinking "So this is Tim Cook's first big idea?". Not fair, but it was there.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nonameowns Avatar
175 months ago
We created the first app that sends printed cards from an iPhone over a year ago. Our price was and still is $2.99. You can also send postcards for just $0.99. I may have to contact Tim about this. Any idea what to do about this situation?

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photoraven-send-postcards/id370197152?mt=8

you're ****ed.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
swingerofbirch Avatar
175 months ago
Does Apple have someone to sign the card for you or are the sent unsigned?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)