Every group event has the same slow part: someone asks the group chat what everyone wants to eat, and forty messages later nobody has decided. Apple Invites has a fix for that built into the invitation itself. Version 1.13, released on Wednesday, November 11, lets hosts add a poll to an event so guests can vote on the theme, the menu or whatever else the host hasn't settled.

The update also adds an emoji effect that floats across the invitation. Apple's release notes say it's there "to match the vibe of your event," and Apple hasn't said more about it. It's decoration. The poll is what changes how a host plans.

How polls work

Polls live in a new Poll tile on the event page. To add one on iPhone, open the event, tap Edit, scroll down to the Poll tile and tap Create a Poll. Type a question and the choices, and you can turn on Allow Multiple Choice if guests should be able to pick more than one answer. There's also a Show Poll Deadline switch for setting a date and time when responses are due. Hosts can edit or remove a poll later, and results show up when you touch and hold the poll title and tap Poll Results.

The detail that makes this useful is in Apple's support guide: any guest can vote, with or without an Apple Account. That matters for any group with Android or Windows users in it. Guests can vote on the web at icloud.com/invites, and hosts can create and manage polls from iCloud.com too, so you don't need to be holding an iPhone to set one up.

The rules for hosting haven't changed. Creating an event still requires an iCloud+ subscription, which starts at $0.99 a month in the US, and the app needs iOS 26 or later. Guests still pay nothing and don't need an Apple device. If you aren't sure whether you already pay for iCloud+, our guide to checking the subscriptions on your Apple Account walks through where to look.

A small update every month

Polls are the latest step in a steady schedule. Going by the App Store version history, Invites has had a feature update roughly once a month since July. July brought emoji reactions to replies and a confetti animation when guests respond. August added bulk email invitations sent from the host's iCloud Mail. September opened shared albums to people who don't use Apple devices and added full resolution sharing. October made it easier for hosts to add guests by hand and mark their RSVP, so someone who confirms outside the app still shows up on the list.

Almost every one of those updates takes away a reason to leave the app, whether that's a separate email blast, a group text to chase RSVPs or now a poll in another app. Apple launched Invites in February 2025 as a nice looking invitation with a shared album and playlist attached. Twenty one months later it's closer to a planning tool, and it's still included with the cheapest iCloud+ plan.

It still depends on your iCloud account, though. Apple didn't list Invites itself during the 93 minute iCloud outage on Tuesday, November 10, but it did list iCloud Account & Sign In, and every host tool in Invites runs through that sign in. If your poll deadline is tight, leave guests a little room.

Version 1.13 is on the App Store as of November 11, ahead of the holiday party season. Polls take any question you type, so "Which Saturday works?" with a few dates as the choices is the first thing a lot of hosts will try. Whether Apple builds real date scheduling into Invites, with guests' calendars doing the work, is the next update worth watching for.