Uber have redesigned their app. It is their first redesign since 2012. During a presentation of the new app to the press, the co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick said that, "This is a radical redesign and rebuild of the app from scratch."
Based on reports by Engadget, the new and improved Uber app will not only make it easier to see how much a ride will cost or how long it will take, but also meant to keep Uber customers in the app much longer after they've hailed a car. One of the expected beneficial result of the newly redesigned app is that it launches noticeably faster.
Instead of starting with user's pickup location to know exactly where they want to go, the redesign will start with "Where to", as reported by Fortune. If the user is a frequent rider, the app will suggest "shortcuts" of where he might be headed. The app has a destination input field plus three shortcut buttons to quickly access usual destinations like users' home, work and upcoming calendar appointment address, as further explained by Engadget.
Based on the said report, another latest feature is the ability to sync your contacts to the app then set a person as a destination. It will allow users to refer to people as places. As described by Business Insider, if you want to meet up with a friend, but don't know exactly where they are, you can type in their name and go to their shared location.
Uber is also introducing estimated arrival times for UberPool and UberX complete with a cost estimate. It will also group ride types making it easier to compare the costs. The ride-hailing company believes that this will intensy use of UberPool since riders will approximately know right away how long the shared ride will take, as further described by Engadget.
Fortune also reported that the updated app offers new features including Yelp reviews, Pandora, Foursquare suggestions and local transit information, which is believed to help keep Uber users in the app much longer after they've hailed a car. The newly redesigned app will be rolling out on iOS and Android over the next few weeks.
