At an event in San Francisco on Thursday morning, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi unveiled the new vision for the ride-hailing giant which will result in a major overhaul of its app.
“We want to be the operating system of your life,” Khosrowshahi said.
That means bringing all of Uber’s disparate projects including food delivery, transit passes, and e-bikes under one roof, in one unified app.
Khosrowshahi said the company is testing the new experience in nine countries around the world but did not specify when the update is expected to launch or if it would be coming to the US.
That means bringing all of Uber’s disparate projects including food delivery, transit passes, and e-bikes under one roof, in one unified app.
Within the new Uber experience, instead of being immediately launched into a map to request a ride, users will be forced to make a decision. Do you want a ride? Or do you want to see food delivery options near you?
Khosrowshahi said the company is testing the new experience in nine countries around the world, but did not specify when the update is expected to launch or if it would be coming to the US. As of writing this article in San Francisco, California, we did not see the new home screen experience within our Uber app.
The Chief Executive said on Thursday that because some users will inevitably just want to use Uber for ride-hailing, the company will offer a separate app just for that service. Khosrowshahi also did not specify when this side-car app would be launching.
The app overhaul comes as Uber announced a slew of safety updates on Thursday including a four-digit PIN system for riders to make sure they’re getting into the right car with the right driver. Uber is also updating its facial recognition technology to help ensure its verified drivers are indeed the ones driving.
The update also comes just two days after its ride-sharing counterpart, Lyft, announced a redesign to its app as well. Lyft which doesn’t have a food delivery service focused its new app experience on suggesting alternative travel methods to a car, like a bike, scooter, or public transit.
