Skip to main content

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

TaskRabbit will get your tasks done in under 90 minutes now

taskrabbit ios update screen shot 2016 03 01 at 11 40 16 am
Image used with permission by copyright holder
If there’s one thing that TaskRabbit understands, it’s that time is your most precious resource (and secondarily, that you’re probably not as handy as you think you are). Luckily, the on-demand help service has a solution that will address both those problems in a manner that really epitomizes efficiency. A redesigned iOS app focuses more heavily than ever on real-time service, and promises to match you with a “Tasker” within five minutes. Better yet, the Tasker will get to your task in less than 90 minutes.

Back in 2014, TaskRabbit adopted its current model of on-demand requests for a whole slew of tasks, allowing rabbits (read: helpful humans) to set their price for a number of different errands. On TaskRabbit, you can get help for everything from cleaning to installations to moving to everyday chores, and for the last couple years, users were able to post a task and find a willing individual within the same day. Then, the task would get done within the next three days or so, meaning you still had to plan ahead a bit.

But now, even that schedule is being upended in the firm’s move toward a true on-demand experience. In an announcement on Tuesday (supplemented by an email to users), TaskRabbit is now “bringing you the most on-demand capabilities, making same-day requests easier.” You’ll now be able to “find available Taskers in under 5 minutes, get accurate estimated arrival times,” and perhaps best of all, “pay as little as $35 per hour for everyday chores.”

The iOS has also gotten a bit of a facelift, with iOS users now able to see what tasks they have scheduled for now or later on the newly designed home screen. Because yes, just because you can book a task for 5 minutes from now doesn’t mean you have to — TaskRabbit will still let you plan ahead.

“We’re moving from on-demand to real time,” said John Vars, the company’s chief product officer in an interview with Venturebeat. “The next evolution of the TaskRabbit business makes us the only platform that delivers [on] getting everyday chores done immediately. We’re removing the friction and inefficiency of finding help, scheduling a mutually workable time, and having to wait to get something fixed, cleaned, or delivered.”

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
There’s a big problem with smartphone software updates
Android 14 easter egg on OnePlus 11 with OxygenOS 14 beta.

Software updates, the lifeblood of our phones, are a confusing mess — and we need to let manufacturers know there’s a problem. Those are bold words for a seemingly boring aspect of our phones, but it's true.

We absolutely need updates regularly delivered to our phones, but we don’t need questionable features so they become “newsworthy” events, and updates need to be better presented to the people actually using the device itself.
Marketing is taking over

Read more
It’s finally happening — your iPhone is getting RCS in 2024
iMessage on an iPhone 14 Pro Max, plus iMessage on an Android phone using the Beeper app.

Today is a day I truly didn't expect would ever happen. On November 16, 2023, Apple officially confirmed that RCS texting is finally coming to the iPhone in 2024.

Yes, you read that correctly. Starting "later next year," Apple will add RCS support to the iPhone. In other words, if you have an Android phone and are texting someone with an iPhone, you'll be able to text each other over RCS instead of SMS. That means you'll get many iMessage-like features such as typing indicators, read receipts, higher-resolution photo/video sharing, etc.

Read more
Can my iPhone get iOS 17? Here’s every supported model
Someone holding an iPhone 14 Pro Max and iPhone 14 Pro next to each other.

The latest version of iOS, iOS 17, comes with a host of new features, including phone call customizations, Live Voicemail, updated iMessage features, and many more. While the update is compatible with many iPhone models, it is not supported by all.

Apple's iOS 17 was announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2023) alongside iPadOS, macOS, and more updates. It's an exciting update, but is it one you can get on your iPhone?
Which iPhone models can download iOS 17?
Apple iPhone 8 Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Read more