Maybe you chat up the driver when you get in an Uber, or perhaps you stare out the window. More likely you’re perusing through a few apps on your smartphone. Well, Uber wants to be your in-ride infotainment service, not entirely unlike what you’d find on a flight.
The ride-sharing service just launched a developer tool called Uber Trip Experiences, which lets third-party apps provide notifications, music playlists, news content, or ads to passengers during their trips. Uber says this content will be customized to the length of the ride, and will require permission from the user.
Related Videos
Some examples include smart home appliance apps popping up notifications that will remind you to turn up the heat in your home before you arrive; receiving a five-minute news update for a five-minute ride; music apps providing playlists for you to listen to during the ride; and ads with points of interests and offers cropping up as you make your way to your destination. Of course, as more third-party apps choose to make use of this feature, there will be more choices and varied options of what exactly will be offered to you during your ride.
If none of that appeals to you and you just want to drive in peace, Uber says users will be able to turn the feature off on an app-by-app basis. We’ll have to wait until developers start using this new feature to see if it will really be a welcome addition to Uber drives, or if it will be an ad-ridden nuisance.
The company says the update is its biggest since it released the Ride Request API in March of 2015, which allowed third-party apps to implement a Ride Request Button so that users could save a few clicks by not having to open the Uber app.
If you’re a developer, you can check out the Getting Started page for Uber Trip Experiences here.
Your Google One plan just got 2 big security updates to keep you safe online
Google just added some major new security features to keep its Google One subscribers safe while on the web. After all, the internet is where you spend a lot of your time, whether that's looking things up, paying bills, shopping, booking appointments, or sharing photos with family and friends. That’s a lot of information, and Google wants to keep subscribers safe from the darker side of the web.
Regardless of whether you use an iPhone or an Android smartphone, all Google One subscribers are getting the following two security features.
VPN by Google One for everyone
Android Auto just got a much-requested new feature
Android Auto is an excellent platform that helps bridge the gap between a driver's phone and their car's control center, and now it's getting even better.
The latest update for the Android Auto beta adds an exciting amount of customization to the interface's widgets. Now, instead of the usual fixed layout that users have grown accustomed to, the widgets are interchangeable and able to be customized to best accommodate a driver's needs.
Our 5 favorite iPhone and Android apps by Black developers
As we wrap up the celebration of 2023's Black History Month, it remains important to recognize and appreciate the contributions that Black people have made in various fields, including technology and the smartphone apps we use every day. From social media platforms to productivity tools, Black developers and other people of color have worked hard to create innovative, useful, and just plain fun apps.
Here, we're focusing on five helpful apps developed by Black people that you should check out. These iPhone and Android apps range from ones that help you discover and support Black-owned businesses to ones that provide legal assistance in case of an emergency to ones that curate and highlight sources of news and entertainment by Black creators.
We Read Too