Apps

Grab rolls out new services at inaugural GrabX showcase

Grab For Family | Teens, Shared Saver, Advance Booking, Travel Pass, more

Published

April 8, 2025

GadgetMatch

Grab has unveiled a new lineup of innovative new services designed “For Every You” during its inaugural GrabX showcase.

With the understanding that Grab app users are multifaceted and puts on different hats throughout the day, Grab’s landmark rollout of its latest products and features marks a shift in a way it intends to serve users’ everyday needs.

The new services include Grab For Family | Teens, GrabFood for One, Shared Saver, as well as Advanced Booking, Dine Out Discovery, and Grab Travel Pass.

The app has also launched a new Grab Early Access Programme, giving users the chance to try out these new services as soon as possible.

Here’s a quick rundown of each new app product:

Grab For Family | Teens

Grab For Family | Teens is a safe and reliable way for teenagers aged 13 to 17 to travel independently while giving parents and caregivers peace of mind. It will launch in May.

Grab will link a teenager’s account with a Grab for Family account, so the former can book rides on their own. Alternatively, the parent or guardian can also book on their behalf.

Extra safety features include prioritized assignment to top-rated partner drivers, ride PIN verification, and always-on AudioProtect. Soon, AudioProtect will also harness GenAI to detect in real-time if there is anything dangerous happening inside a vehicle.

Gatherings made seamless using LLM

Grab has also introduced a number of improvements behind-the-scenes to make sure large orders arrive reliably. That’s specially for special occasions like Ramadan, Chinese New Year, Tết and Christmas.

Grab bared that it uses a tailored Large Language Model (LLM) to determine if GrabFood orders coming in are considered a large order. This is done across 175 million food variations across the Grab platform.

If the algorithm determines an order is too bulky or heavy for one delivery person, the app will assign a four-wheeler instead. If there isn’t one, the order can be split to two motorbike delivery riders. Then, they’ll be dispatched in a way that both halves of the order arrive at a similar time.

This solution is now live across Southeast Asia and is continuously improving.

GrabFood for One

Meanwhile, ordering alone using Grab has been made more accessible and simpler. Grab now offers affordable meals with no minimum spend and a fixed low delivery fee.

The app works with merchant partners to curate and design a diverse list of meal options which customers can order through a quick checkout experience.

This service is now live in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Shared Saver

Moreover, Shared Saver allows users to order food as if they’re in a Group Order, but with strangers.

The way this goes is Grab’s AI detects when there are multiple orders in the vicinity from the same merchant. Grab will then automatically decide to start a Shared Saver order.

Alternatively, a user can also initiate a Shared Saver order to save on fees. There’s a countdown timer to tell users how soon they need to make a decision.

Shared Saver will be piloted in Singapore this month, before Grab rolls out the service in other cities by June.

Advance Booking (Airport Pickup) expands

Furthermore, Grab has expanded its Advanced Booking (Airport Pickup) service to more locations. It was rolled out for Metro Manila airports last year initially. Now, more Grab users can benefit from its services.

The service offers passengers to book in advance for trips to the airport as early as a week ahead. Grab will assign the booking to its GrabAirport fleet.

Passengers can also adjust the booking as late as two hours prior to the original schedule. They can also communicate with the assigned driver 45 minutes in advance.

Advance Booking is now available at the following airports:

I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (Bali)
Soekarno–Hatta International Airport (Jakarta)
Yogyakarta International Airport
Juanda International Airport (Surabaya)
Kuala Lumpur International Airport 1
Phuket International Airport
Seletar Airport (Singapore)

More cities will benefit from the service in the coming months.

Dine Out Discovery (Powered by GrabMaps)

Grab is also leveraging its maps and food database by introducing Dine Out Discovery. This gives users an easy and intuitive way to look for dining options and deals around them.

Simply search and filter by cuisine, food preferences, ratings, price, and even walkable distance. Tap on restaurants to see details like menu, opening hours, photos, and user reviews. Finally, use the map to navigate to the restaurant, or even book a ride.

Dine Out Discovery will be available across all markets by May. Reservations will also be launched in Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand by May.

Grab Travel Pass

Lastly, Grab Travel Pass will let tourists enjoy their getaways across the region. Users can purchase the Travel Pass in-app even before leaving their home country.

It includes various vouchers for airport rides, general transport, food delivery, and dining out. This way, users can enjoy traveling around Southeast Asia in a more affordable and convenient manner.

Apps

iOS 26.5 will support end-to-end encryption RCS messaging

The final update should come out within the month.

Published

May 5, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Back in 2023, Apple finally adopted the RCS messaging standard, ensuring that iOS and Android users could communicate more seamlessly despite being on different platforms. This year, the platform is adding an improvement to the feature: end-to-end encryption.

Starting with the upcoming launch of iOS 26.5, Apple will now support end-to-end encrypted RCS messaging between iOS and Android users (via 9to5Mac). Besides the seamless communication, users on both platforms can start enjoying secure messaging with one another.

Apple has been testing the feature since February. Now, the company is confident enough to release the encryption technology in a new build for iOS 26.5 meant for developers. At this point, it’s just waiting for an actual release.

Why is this a big deal? Encryption adds an extra layer of security for your messages. Plus, end-to-end encryption means that messages is encrypted and decrypted only by the sender and the receiver. Third parties, which includes Apple, cannot intercept and access your information.

With the feature on, both messaging platforms on Android and iOS will show a lock icon to signify that, yes, your messages are encrypted.

Though the current build isn’t meant for end users just yet, it’s expected that iOS 26.5 will launch within the month, if not by next week.

SEE ALSO: Apple iPhone 17e review

Apps

YouTube makes picture-in-picture mode free for everyone globally

The update is rolling out globally now.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Picture-in-picture (or PiP) mode is a godsend for multitaskers. The feature lets users watch videos in a tiny floating window while doing other tasks. However, the feature isn’t readily available for all users. Or wasn’t, at least. YouTube is now rolling out PiP mode for free globally.

Previously, PiP mode was exclusive to YouTube users who pay for Premium or Premium Lite. It was also exclusive to the United States.

Now, YouTube is making the feature completely free for users all over the globe. It will be available for both iOS and Android versions of the app.

There’s still a catch, though. The free version is available only for “longform, non-music content.” The same goes for Premium Lite subscribers. Music is still an exclusive feature for those who pay for the regular version of Premium. Basically, there is no change for paying users or users in the United States.

Using PiP mode is simple. All you need to do is load up a video you want to watch in the background. Then, just exit the YouTube app and go about your other tasks. The video will be inside a floating, resizable window while you look at other things.

There’s no timeline on when the update will reach your device. However, YouTube has promised that it will roll out globally within the coming months.

Apps

Google might be moving away from flat design

Bye bye, Material Design.

Published

April 27, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

It’s time to kindly shove off, flat design. After over a decade of Google’s Material Design, Android is finally showing signs of ditching flat, monotonous colors. In a series of logo redesigns, Google is reportedly trying out gradients as its latest reinvention.

As spotted by 9to5Google, Google is moving forward with incorporating gradients into its designs. Previously, the company started changing the icons of a few first-party apps including Photos and Maps. Now, it seems that the new design philosophy will reach the rest of Google’s suite.

In the obtained designs, the rest of Google’s plethora of apps will no longer look static. The splash of gradient adds the feeling of layering without losing the company’s roots in flat design. Docs and Sheets, for example, look like a light shining on pieces of paper.

Image source: 9to5Google

It’s unknown when Google plans to incorporate the new philosophy. However, with Google I/O coming fast, it’s fair to bet that an update might come out around that time, especially since that event’s logo already has gradients.

Google’s evolution is not without its precedent. Besides the company’s small trial previously, Apple’s iOS has also made inroads into more three-dimensional designs with the new Liquid Glass. However, unlike Apple, Google’s newest design is a far cry from the former’s return to Windows Vista aesthetics.

Personally, I don’t mind the transition to 3D, as long as it’s done well. Though still visually pleasing, flat design has started overstaying its welcome. It’s time to try something new.