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

Top Rated Comments

None Such Avatar
163 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
163 months ago
Bah -- who needs an iPhone 5, when I have... CARDS! :rolleyes:
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nagromme Avatar
163 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
163 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
163 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
163 months ago
Does Apple have someone to sign the card for you or are the sent unsigned?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....