Uber is more than just rides.
Further proving its presence as a tech juggernaut, the company launched UberEats on Wednesday, as its first standalone app which doesn't have anything to do with its ride-hailing service, as reported by Wired.
Just as the name sounds, UberEats focuses on food ordering and quick delivery. The app is only available in Toronto for starters, but that could change over time with increased demand and growth.
According to Wired, Uber had been testing the food service within its ride-hailing app in 12 cities, but this version in Toronto marks the company's first standalone app geared toward food.
Within it is an option for Instant Delivery, in which users can select between five dishes daily that are promised to arrive at their door within five to 10 minutes, in attempt to be a more efficient Seamless.
UberEats purposely selected a small number of meals at participating restaurants in Toronto to test the beginning stages of how the app, its orders and deliveries function.
"We felt we needed to resist the urge to overcomplicate things," said Jason Droege, head of Uber Everything, to Wired. "With Uber, you hit a button, get a ride. When you think of thousands of meals, all of a sudden that experience starts to need its own world to make it as simple as possible."
That being said, users aren't relegated to only the five-meal options from each restaurant under the app's Instant Delivery. UberEats offers regulary delivery, too, allowing users to choose from Toronto restaurants' full menus, as well. Wired says there's even a middle-ground feature on the app called Popular Items, which lets customers choose from 10 items on a restaurant's menu.
How soon before UberEats crosses over into the United States and well beyond?
