Uber announced today that it’s launching two new, immersive scripts for third party apps to use Uber better. The new release is apparently an answer to Chinese developers that complained about the original API (application program interface).
Known as the “Ride Request Button”, the original API was a script that would take users out of the app they were using and into the Uber app. This update focuses on making the Uber experience better for two specific groups of people: developers and brands.
The first new addition is the “Ride Request Widget”, a vamped up version of the original API. It’s a tiny widget that sits right inside any app and lets people view prices, check availability, and book taxis without having to leave.
To save data, maps don’t load, and users are instead met with a black bar that indicates car availability and prices. Once booked, an ETA pops up – and that’s it. It’s fine tuned to operate well in low data areas, which makes sense after India came in dead last in a report released last month on data speeds in Asia.
The second addition is an interesting initiative known as “Trip Branding.” If Zomato adds this API to its app, for example, users will be taken to the Uber app to book taxis, but the restaurant search startup can customize a few aesthetic aspects of the Uber app experience, like integrating its logo or using custom colors. This second one is not to be confused with the widget, though, and still moves you into the Uber app.
Developers run the world
How the new API will look.
Ola released a similar API in September of last year, when Uber was still only providing a script that would move users to a new app.
Announcements about APIs have only gotten glamorous very recently, and it’s interesting how companies are trying to help developers feel included.
Facebook released a long explanation about how it developed its data-conscious app last month, and Digital Ocean announced plans to launch a data center in India with the intention to “help the booming economy[…] grow and succeed”.
It’s projected that India will have the highest number of developers in the world by 2018, but the community is notorious for its laissez-faire attitude and independent streak.
If China’s developers had enough power to get Uber to launch a new API, who knows what India’s millions can do?
See: Ola launches its API
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