Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

With the Openbay app, you can monitor (and pay for) car repairs from your phone

Generally speaking, if your car needs service, you take it to a shop and let the mechanics do their thing. What exactly happens back there though? Magic wench-wielding repair gnomes? Mystical fix-it spray? A stack of Easy Buttons? With a new smartphone application by Openbay, you can keep tabs on the entire process right from your phone.

Openbay is an online marketplace that allows customers to locate, schedule, and purchase auto repair services in their area. The company’s new Openbay app — now available for Android and well as iOS devices — builds off an already established community of service professionals by allowing them to communicate with car owners. With Openbay, the wall between mechanic and driver has been broken down.

Recommended Videos

“Until now, there’s been no other native app for consumers to handle the end-to-end process of getting a vehicle serviced via Android,” said Rob Infantino, CEO of Openbay. “More than 40 percent of Openbay consumers book auto repair services via their mobile devices, and we see the trend toward mobile continuing, and look forward to exposing the platform to an entirely new market wherever and whenever they need automotive service.”

Related: Let your car describe its symptoms directly to the mechanic with OpenbayConnect

The Openbay app goes far beyond pictures and messages though; it also tracks service history, allows users to generate Openbay Rewards credits for future services, and even helps customers process payment with their mobile. The program can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Last year, Openbay announced another smartphone app called OpenbayConnect. The program expands on the company’s online services by adding an OBDII plugin, which opens a line of communication between your car and your phone. If there’s an issue with your vehicle, the app will find it, diagnose it, and list local repair offers with prices attached.

Andrew Hard
Andrew first started writing in middle school and hasn't put the pen down since. Whether it's technology, music, sports, or…
How to keep your Apple devices safe from AirPlay attacks
Apple AirPlay streaming to another device.

Apple’s approach to building new features has always been rooted in safety and seamless convenience. Take, for example, AirPlay, a wireless standard created by the company that allows users to stream audio and video from one device to another.

AirPlay works not just across Apple devices, but also on TVs and speakers cleared by the company to offer the wireless streaming facility. That also makes it a ripe target for attacks, and it seems there are, in fact, vulnerabilities in the wireless lanes that could allow bad actors to seed malware and infect more connected devices. 

Read more
Here’s one fella who can’t wait to get his hands on the iPhone Air
Alleged concept render of the iPhone 17 Air in black.

The so-called “iPhone Air” is apparently on the way, despite Apple remaining characteristically tight-lipped about such a device. 

Numerous leaks have suggested that the iPhone Air, which is expected to launch this fall along with the iPhone 17, will be just 5.5mm thick, making it easily Apple’s slimmest handset yet. 

Read more
5 phones you should buy instead of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
A person taking the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge out of a pocket.

It's an undeniable fact that smartphones have gotten larger and larger over the years. Samsung is trying to turn back the years with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, a smartphone that embraces everything we love about modern phones, but tries to make it just that little bit more svelte. The result is a phone that's just 5.9mm thick, making other flagships look like lumbering brutes.

The Galaxy S25 Edge's slimness is going to mean compromises, of course — chiefly, the battery size is smaller than its competitors, and while the build is thinner, there's a worry that could make the phone easier to damage. All of this is pure supposition until we get chance to review the phone, of course, and if you're considering buying the S25 Edge, we'd recommend waiting until our final review until you make a decision. But that doesn't change the fact that there are a number of strong smartphones out there that can do the S25 Edge's job well, and sometimes, better. Here are five phones you should buy instead of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.

Read more