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Yahoo’s new Radar app wants to be your ‘virtual travel guide’

It’s true, there are a ton of apps out there that want to help you plan and enjoy your next vacation, but Yahoo believes its new Radar app can do things a little differently to the current crop of offerings.

Launched on Tuesday, the iOS-only app is billed as a “smart travel guide” that uses machine learning to offer personalized recommendations for your next trip, gathering the best information from across the web and refining those searches the more you use the app, VentureBeat reported.

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So yes, everything you’d expect is included – advice on unmissable sights, suggestions for great dining and shopping experiences, notes on must-see events, and so on. To make the information as useful as possible, the app automatically filters these recommendations based on your own preferences and date of travel.

What it also does – and here’s the “smart” bit – is scan your email inbox in search of any trip-related messages. When it comes across something relevant, for example flight and hotel booking information, it’ll automatically incorporate it into your itinerary. Once done, you’ll receive alerts if your trip details change, so you’ll be informed if, for example, your flight’s delayed or if your gate changes.

Radar also offers up tips from people who’ve already been to where you’re going, and you can use their recommendations to build your own bucket list – another feature of the app.

Rather than inputting text for searches the whole time, the app endeavors to guide you through by offering options via buttons, its AI engine learning about your preferences as you use the app and responding accordingly.

At this stage, you need a Yahoo account to use Radar, but the good news is that you don’t need a Yahoo Mail account. That’s because since last year Yahoo has offered support for a number of other web-based email services, including Gmail, Outlook/Hotmail, and AOL Mail.

As we said at the top, there’s a plethora of travel apps already out there fighting for your attention. You may have already found one that you’re perfectly happy with. If not, try Radar.

Download for iOS

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
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