Uber Just Announced a Wave of New Features, Including Boat Bookings In Mykonos

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – no, not Christmas, but one of the days when an app you use constantly to make your life easy has announced a bunch of new features to make life even easier. I’m talking about Uber and the wave of fresh features that started rolling out on May 18.

You already use Uber to get around and to order food when you’re hungover. Or lazy, or rushing home and can’t be bothered chopping carrots into tiny pieces. The new announcements from the company mainly centre on making these flagship offerings even more enticing, like being able to group-order groceries instead of hoping you got your partner’s preferred almond milk and a new way to split the bill when you’re all in an Uber together.

Here are the new announcements you need to know about.

Group Groceries

Ever had to do a big shop for a weekender with friends or get a barrage of texts from your housemate over the course of two (very busy) work hours about things they’d love you to get from the shops? The new group grocery order function fixes that.

Basically, you can start a shopping cart with a bunch of other people – everyone can peruse the grocery lineup and add what they like. You can set a deadline, and there are even reminders for those friends that, erm, aren’t exactly the most focused.

This also makes splitting the grocery bill easy – whoever adds the items pays for the items they added. Or hey, be generous and pay for it all!

Uber Car Seat

Travelling with little ones? It can be hard to use car transport services unless you want to lug a car seat around the city, so Uber’s taking care of the problem with Uber Car Seat.

When you open the app, you’ll find a booking option that will send a vehicle fitted with a car seat so that you can get around safely.

Group Rides

Ever hopped in an Uber with two friends, but you’ve only got to go a few Ks compared to their suburb-jumping road trip? It seems unfair when you’re forking out the same cash as everyone else if you’re dropped off early, and Group Rides is here to fix that problem.

While adding other Uber riders to your trip has existed for ages on Uber, this update levels things up. Now, the trip will coordinate in the most efficient (read: cheapest) route for drop-offs, and the bill will get split based on how long you’re in the car.

This one’s yet to launch but will be rolling out in Australia soon across Sydney, Brissie and Canberra.

Video Gift Messaging

Sending gifts via Uber is something we wouldn’t have considered even a few years ago, but now with so many delivery partners on the app, it’s a useful option if you’re strapped for time or can’t get to your loved ones.

With the introduction of Video Gift Messaging, too, it just got even more personal – send a bunch of flowers to Mum or a hamper of delicious treats to your friend with a newborn, and team it with a self-recorded message that’ll make them smile.

Uber Boat

This is probably the most fun announcement from Uber, ever – if you’re heading to Mykonos for a Euro summer, you need to try out the new Uber Boat option. Yes, you can now book boats on Uber, making that sunset cruise way easier to organise.

The boat option will pop up in the Uber app when you’re in Mykonos and works similarly to rides – you book the boat immediately or for a specific time and pay via the Uber app. The amount is based on how many stopping points you choose – get from A to B, or hop around the island’s gorgeous ports to get amongst the incredible beaches.

Fingers crossed that Uber rolls this one out to other idyllic towns and islands in future.

Stadium Ordering

Now, this one is a new Uber feature that isn’t yet available in Australia, but we really, really hope it will be in the future. In select sports stadiums and live-event venues, Uber now lets you order snacks from your seat.

What does this mean? You can order your meat pies, hot dogs and giant Cokes while watching the action, then only head up to the food stands when your meals are ready. Skipping the lengthy queues and ensuring you never miss a goal or tackle? Genius.

You can check out the complete list of Uber’s new features on the site now.