You’ve always been able to rate your driver in Uber and see their star average before using the ride-sharing service, but Uber hasn’t easily exposed your star average intentionally before. Now Uber says it is rolling out an update to make your passenger rating visible in its app to encourage better rider behavior.
We learned yesterday that Tim Cook almost pulled Uber from the App Store over the way it was tracking iPhones and tricking Apple engineers. Uber had seemingly found a way to ‘fingerprint’ individual iPhones even after the app was removed, and had taken steps to try to hide this behavior from Apple – one of many questionable business practices the ride hailing firm has made in recent years.
Mr. Kalanick told his engineers to “geofence” Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., a way to digitally identify people reviewing Uber’s software in a specific location. Uber would then obfuscate its code from people within that geofenced area.
The original NYT piece suggested that Uber was somehow able to track iPhones even after they had been erased, but well-connected John Gruber has come up with what seems like a more probable description of what the company was and wasn’t doing …
Uber has long been the suspect of user tracking allegations on iOS, with the company itself addressing the problem as recently as last year. A new wide-ranging profile from The New York Times, however, offers more detail on Uber’s location tracking habits, and how they almost got the app banned from the App Store…
Uber is today announcing a new feature with the ability for riders to edit their pickup address after requesting a ride.
The feature has been a top request following recent redesigns of the Uber app that implemented automatic positioning using GPS opposed to making users enter their locations manually. If the GPS got your address slightly wrong, however, you’d previously have to contact the driver to varying degrees of success. Today’s update will make it so you can easily adjust your address after requesting the ride without having to contact the driver directly.
Ordering a Lyft ride just got easier – in theory, at least – as it can now pull destinations from your calendar. Provided you give the app permission to access your iPhone calendar, you can select the ‘Add from calendar’ option under Destinations, and then tap on the event. This follows Uber introducing the same functionality earlier this month.
There is, though, a catch which is likely to limit the functionality for most people …
Following reports that the Uber app appears to be tracking customer locations days or even weeks after their last ride, the company has issued an explanation. That statement also explains who some users were seeing the behavior while others weren’t.
The company says that it is not the app which is accessing location data, but rather the iOS Maps extension that some have chosen to activate …
Uber recently changed the behaviour of its app so that it continued to track the location of customers for an additional five minutes after they were dropped off. The move appeared to be to prevent driver fraud, by preventing drivers claiming that a journey lasted longer than it did.
If you’ve ever had trouble trying to identify your Uber car at a busy location at night, the company has a plan to make it easier for driver and rider to spot each other. You select a color in the iPhone app and hold your phone up as the vehicle approaches, looking out for the same color in the car’s windshield …
Thousands of Uber employees are said to be still able to use ‘God view’ to track customers of the ride service in real time almost two years after the company claimed to have restricted access to the data. Employees of the company are said to be tracking both public figures and exes.
Reuters sources have said that Apple’s billion dollar investment in Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing was one of the key factors that led to Uber ceasing independent operation in the country. It was announced earlier this week that Didi had acquired UberChina in return for a 20% shareholding.
Apple invested $1B in Didi back in May, the same month that the company began actively seeking to acquire UberChina. Together with investments with Chinese tech companies Alibaba and Tencent, it was this which led Uber to conclude that it was being out-spent and would ultimately lose the expensive battle for market domination …
Uber is claiming at least part of the credit for a 32% fall in drunk driving in Atlanta over a 3.5-year period, while also announcing that it is using its app to monitor driving standards and notify drivers when they are at risk of negative feedback.
The iOS Google Maps app has long shown you Uber fares and pickup times when you search for a destination, provided that you have the Uber app installed. Google has integrated five more services into its mapping app. Most of these are for countries outside the USA – though NYC dwellers can also use Gett.
If you have a provider’s app installed and tap on the ride service tab, you’ll be able to see fare estimates and pick up times if a car is available near you. Select a service, and we’ll take you directly to their app for you to book your ride with one tap. When it makes sense, we’ll also show ride service availability when viewing the map in walking and transit directions, and multiple ride services options for each provider—where they exist. For example, if you’re using Uber, starting today, we’ll now show uberX, uberXL and UberBLACK for an easy and quick comparison.
Uber is beginning to test a new feature that will make it easier for family and other close-knit groups to share an Uber account. That means that your family could use a single credit card for Uber across several devices, making it easy for parents to pay for their kids or other family members, for example.
Facebook today announced it’s rolling out a new feature for its Messenger chat app that will let users book a car through Uber. The feature, it said, expands on other “integrations” it’s added recently outside of the app’s core chat functionality, like the ability to send money or use the app for customer support.
If you use Uber for both business and work pleasure, it can be a pain handling the accounting, having to remember to claim the business rides back on expenses. But the service now allows you to register a second credit card for business use, and then simply tap your Personal or Business profile in the app to charge the appropriate card.
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Uber has announced that it will be sending location-based AMBER alerts to its drivers across all 180 U.S. cities in which it operates, following a successful trial in Colorado.
AMBER alerts provide information on missing children, including description and last known location, so that the public can be on the look out for them. Since the launch of the scheme in 1996, a total of 722 children have been safely found as a direct result of an AMBER alert.
Robert Hoever, director of special programs at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, described the Uber program as “an incredible asset.”
The AMBER Alert program’s success is built on the ability to reach the right people at the right time with these potentially life-saving messages. Uber’s presence in communities all across the country will be an incredible asset and we are proud to team up with Uber to increase the reach of the AMBER Alert program and help bring more missing children home safely.
Apps have proven a powerful addition to the AMBER alerts program, with mobile apps from Facebook and Waze already supporting them.
Via The Verge
StubHub is rolling out an updated version of its iOS app today that adds integration with both Uber and Apple Music.
For Uber, users can now request a vehicle directly from within the app when purchasing event tickets or setup a reminder to do so for an upcoming event. Once you’ve booked a ride with Uber, StubHub automatically provides the location of the event venue to the driver:
After completing a ticket purchase on StubHub, fans will now be able to set a reminder to arrange transportation through Uber when the event is imminent. Users who purchase tickets within two hours of the event will be able to order an Uber directly from the order confirmation page.
As for the Apple Music support, the app can now tap into your Apple Music library to automatically scan for new artists to add to your StubHub ‘favorites’, a feature that lets users track upcoming events for their favourite artists.
The Uber and Apple Music integration is available for StubHub users in the updated StubHub app, version 6.0.4, on the App Store. The Uber feature, however, is available only for users in the UK, US, and Canada.
Apple considered but ultimately rejected Uber for the same-day delivery service it piloted in May and expanded earlier this month for its online store, reports the WSJ.
In recent months, Uber lost out on the opportunity to make deliveries in some cities for Apple Inc. and Starbucks Corp. , which discussed tie-ups with Uber but then made deals with startup courier service Postmates, according to people familiar with the discussions.
One possible explanation for the decision not to use Uber may be found in a comment by another online retailer, Gilt Groupe, which says it rejected Uber because the company “was unable to insure high-priced items.”
Apple’s same-day option offers delivery within four hours for a $19 courier fee, but only for certain items and within a very small number of zip codes.
Postmates appears to be the main or sole courier company being used for the service, but Apple’s offer does not extend to all areas covered by the delivery company. If you live within a Postmates area but Apple does not currently offer same-day delivery, it may be worth trying to order the product through the Postmates app.
<a href="https://twitter.com/harrymccracken/status/593459473173204992" target="_blank">via Harry McCracken</a>
It was hard to miss the iPhone 6 and iPad Air on stage during the beginning of Microsoft’s BUILD conference for developers. It turns out the Apple devices were used to demo a new feature coming to Office for iPhone and iPad called add-ins…
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As the Apple Watch launch draws nearer, with preorders starting April 10th, more and more developers are jumping on board. Uber rolled out a new update of its iPhone app today including its Apple Watch app — originally announced at the March event. The app allows users to request rides in one action and you can check on driver progress with a quick glance.
The New York Times is adding ‘one sentence stories’ to its portfolio for the Watch, including emoji-driven recipes and quick headlines. Push notifications will update Apple Watch users of breaking news right on the wrist. Full stories can be saved for later to be read at leisure on user’s iPhones, as the Watch form factor isn’t really appropriate for prolonged reading.
Uber, the app-based transportation service which lets you request a ride from your iPhone, is running a pretty interesting promotion in Phoenix, Arizona starting today through Saturday for Super Bowl XLIX . Between 10 am and 6 pm each day, Uber will offer to deliver a free Mophie Power Reserve ($49.95 1350mAh battery charger) to its users through the app. The free Mophie option is listed alongside car types in the Uber app.
Since requesting Uber to deliver a mobile charger to you then having them wait for you to charge your phone would take potentially hours, Uber and Mophie are giving the Power Reserves away to keep.
In the past, Uber has ran similar short run promotions with ice cream and other offers. In DC, for example, Uber is currently promoting a puppy adoption drive.
As for the Mophie giveaway promotion, Uber says it expects demand to be high, obviously, so you’ll have to test your luck with picking up a free Power Reserve if you’re in the area. Uber says its cars are equipped with Mophies, too, if you’re taking a ride and just need a quick charge.
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Update: The new Google Maps app is now available on the App Store.
Google announced an update for its Google Maps for iOS app today that adds a fresh new Material Design layout focusing on bright colors and real world surfaces and shadows. The software’s refreshed interface is set to roll out over the next few days, with new features like dinner reservations from OpenTable (US only) and enhanced information cards with photos and reviews of popular attractions near your location.
Facebook Messenger
Thinkapps’ Build Blog has published a few designer mockups showing what popular third-party applications might look like on Apple’s new smartwatch with some interesting results. The apps were created by several different designers, and you can see that each app maintains some of the branding and design you’d expect while conforming to the smaller wearable UI and its new input devices like the Digital Crown.
Above you’ll find the design for Facebook Messenger, which features a contact view made up of circular contact photos with online indicators that closely resembles the watch’s home screen. The message view sports a single reply button that presumably uses the device’s built-in dictation capability to compose a response.
Below you’ll find designs for apps like Beats Music, Skype, Uber, YouTube, and more. Keep in mind that these designs are hardly official, but represent the types of user interfaces you might see when the folks in Cupertino release the Apple Watch early next year.