Uber followed the path of Lyft by removing support for its app on the Apple Watch. As MacRumors spotted on Monday, the Uber Apple Watch app is still available but won’t let you book a ride if it’s installed.
We checked the Apple Watch Series 7 and got a message: “Please switch to the Uber mobile app. We no longer support the Apple Watch app. We apologize for the inconvenience,” followed by a crying face emoji.
Like the Uber app for iPhone and iPad, the Apple Watch app allowed you to call a taxi from your device, but some features, such as Uber Pool, fare sharing, and the ability to contact the driver or share an estimated arrival time with contacts, were not available. disabled person.
The removal of the Uber feature on the Apple Watch ended a longstanding relationship between the app and the device. Uber was one of the first apps available when the Apple Watch App Store first opened in 2015 (other apps included Twitter, Evernote, and The New York Times).
This morning, Uber’s website still had a page describing what you can do with its Apple Watch app. But as of today, the page says, “We no longer support the Apple Watch app. Please use the Uber mobile app to book rides. We apologize for the inconvenience.”We contacted Uber for more details but did not receive a response in time to post.
In 2018, Lyft ended support for the Apple Watch. At the time, the company told MacRumors, “Lyft’s latest update for iOS will no longer support the standalone Lyft app for Apple Watch. Lyft users will continue to receive notifications on their Apple Watch to easily follow their ride.”
Uber also ended support for its Wear OS watch app in 2019, as noted by The Verge.