Uber

Uber today announced an update to its app that makes it easier to hail a ride and set a destination directly to person in your iPhone contacts list. After syncing contacts to Uber, users can type a friend's name into the "Where To" box in the app, and Uber will then send a request to that person to share their location with you, which can be set as a destination. The app can also update...

One year after testing color-coded rider pickups in Seattle through a system called "SPOT," Uber today announced that the initiative is now called "Uber Beacon," and beginning December 16 it will expand to Miami, Denver, Nashville, and Newcastle in the United Kingdom. Uber Beacon is a piece of hardware that attaches to a driver's windshield and "uses color-pairing technology" to match up drivers...

Uber has announced that users will today begin seeing a new update rolling out for the popular ride-hailing app, which transforms it into a themed Rogue One: A Star Wars Story experience. The visual update comes via a partnership with Disney, and replaces the usual Uber vehicle icons with a few easily recognizable starships from the Star Wars universe, including X-Wings. In addition to the...

A recent update to ride-hailing app Uber is generating a negative reaction online, with customers concerned over the company's decision to track their location "from the time of trip request through five minutes after the trip ends," no matter if the app is open or not. The only option now available for users to negate the background tracking of their location is to go into iOS Settings > Privacy ...

Ahead of Election Day in the United States tomorrow, November 8, a collection of popular iOS and Android ride-hailing apps have launched promos for customers to more easily make it to their polling location before the 8PM deadline (via BuzzFeed). As the biggest ride-hailing app in the U.S., Uber [Direct Link] recently announced that starting tomorrow an action sheet will pop up when users launch...

With iOS 10, Apple opened Siri to third-party developers with a public API, allowing the personal assistant to summon third-party services and apps hands-free. Two of the first apps to make use of the new Siri SDK are WhatsApp Messenger and ride-hailing app Uber, both of which issued updates for their flagship apps this week. Uber users can now hail a ride with a "Hey, Siri" command,...

China-based ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing is under an antitrust investigation, spearheaded by China’s Ministry of Commerce, following Didi's acquisition of Uber's Chinese operations earlier in the summer (via The Wall Street Journal). The Ministry of Commerce said today that it's opened an investigation "after it received questions over whether the ride-hailing deal complied with the...

After years of planning, and testing phases over the last few months, Uber this month will begin allowing customers in Pittsburgh to summon self-driving cars from within its ride-hailing app. As noted by Bloomberg, "no automotive or technology company has yet achieved" the public launch of a self-driving service, passing rivals Google, Tesla, and Ford, who have so far only performed tests in the...

Over the weekend we reported that Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing had agreed to acquire the Chinese operations of rival Uber in a deal worth $35 billion. In a Reuters story filed yesterday, sources close to both companies revealed that Apple's $1 billion investment in Didi Chuxing was the driving factor in Uber's decision to agree to the deal, in return for a one-fifth stake in a...

Ride hailing company Uber is planning to spend $500 million on a global mapping project in an effort to reduce its reliance on Google Maps, according to The Financial Times. The San Fransisco-based company already has mapping vehicles recording geographical data around the U.S. and Mexico. With Uber's presence in over 60 countries, the significant expansion reflects its continuing growth and...

Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing is set to acquire the Chinese operations of rival Uber in a $35 billion deal, reports Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal. Apple notably invested $1 billion in Didi Chuxing back in May, giving Apple access to data and expertise on electric and autonomous car technology, as well as a foot in the door with the Chinese investment community. The...

Ahead of the Fourth of July holiday in the United States, ride hailing app Uber today announced a suite of safety improvements for its driver app, aimed at "predicting, preventing and reducing the number of crashes on the road." The update comes in partnership with Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the Governor's Highway Safety Association, and focuses on parsing out more information to the...

Ride hailing app Uber has begun testing a version of its app in six United States cities, with a new UI that makes periods of surge pricing more subtle to discover for users. Surge pricing is a term dedicated to windows when riders greatly exceed drivers, resulting in heightened fare prices due to the increased demand. When this would happen prior to Uber's new test, anyone signing into the...

Ride hailing company Uber has held talks with Fiat Chrysler about a potential partnership involving self-driving car technology, according to The Wall Street Journal. The discussions are reported to be at a preliminary stage and a deal is yet to be confirmed, cautioned people familiar with the matter. Google uses Chrysler Pacifica Minivans in its self-driving initiative (Image: Chrysler) ...

Uber recently introduced a couple of new features into its driver-focused Partner App, intended to address some issues that the company's drivers have with the service, namely destination requests and rider wait fees (via The Verge). The company says that the updates are directed at removing a few of the pains with driving for Uber, and less about addressing ongoing litigation generated by its...

Ride hailing company Uber has agreed a deal with Foursquare to use its location information in Uber's app to enhance its address finding capabilities (via Mashable). Uber's deal with the local search and discovery service will see its app incorporate Foursquare's Places data, so that riders can find the addresses for exact locations simply by typing in the restaurant or venue name....

Uber has announced it is currently testing self-driving car technology with a view to completely remove the need for drivers from its ride-hailing service. According to a statement by the company posted online yesterday, the initial testing phase is being conducted on the streets of Pittsburgh, using a hybrid Ford Fusion fitted with various sensors including radar, laser scanners and cameras. ...

Uber yesterday announced SPOT, a new initiative to make sure drivers and riders experience less hassle finding one another in dark or crowded areas. The technology will allow someone calling for an Uber to designate a specific color so that their driver can easily spot them when arriving at the pickup location. SPOT is the latest experiment in our ongoing effort to make Uber pickups as...