Apps

Grab transport solutions: The go-to this Christmas season

Reliable, accessible services amid the holiday demand

Published

December 11, 2024

GadgetMatch

Christmas season as a whole is, without question, the most anticipated holiday for Filipinos. That’s where they’re at right now — in the middle of the busiest stretch of the calendar year.

December often includes countless Christmas parties and many other numerous gatherings. And as the month winds down, people then travel back to their provinces to spend the holidays with their loved ones.

According to Grab Philippines, 20% of people plan to travel with family and friends this holiday season. Furthermore, an average group size of 15 people attend Christmas and New Year gatherings.

It’s these occasions that cause a surge in the demand for transport-hailing services throughout the season. Fortunately, Grab Philippines has prepared months ahead. They have anticipated the situation so that they can vow the best service reliability and accessibility for users.

As such, Grab’s transportation solutions are a definite go-to for Filipinos this holiday season. Here are some of the ways passengers can utilize Grab’s transportation services so no matter how busy it gets, they can still just focus on celebrating Christmas with family, friends, and loved ones.

Group Rides

For those traveling to Christmas parties, reunions, and more events, Grab has optimized its transport services to maximize vehicle utilization and promote carpooling.

Family and friends going to the same destination or have drop-off points that are close to each other can leverage Group Rides. This allows passengers to coordinate schedules better and have more reliable travel times.

Of course, the Grab app will automatically map out the best possible route to ensure efficient travel time, minus the delays for each of the addresses inputted. Passengers yet to be picked up can also track the ride status in real-time.

Traveling in groups also makes rides more cost-efficient. All passengers as part of one ride will only have to share the same, singular base fare.

With these options, both Grab and the passengers are doing their part in reducing traffic congestion throughout the holiday season.

Advance Booking

Moreover, if you’re planning on flying in and out of the metro, Grab’s Advance Booking service will surely let you focus on enjoying your trips instead of stressing out on getting a ride – touting guaranteed on-time rides.

The service allows passengers to book a driver as early as seven days ahead of their trip to the airport. The reservation window is likewise flexible, allowing bookings to be changed from as early as seven days prior to as late as two hours before the scheduled ride.

Grab has specific driver-partners under Advance Booking too, so passengers are assured of on-time pick-up. In fact, a PhP 100 courtesy credit will be offered if the driver arrives late for a pre-scheduled ride.

And as preparing for departure day could definitely mean a lot of baggage, Advance Booking rides also have a 15-minute grace period implemented.

This allows drivers to accommodate minor delays too, should passengers encounter sudden inconveniences en route to their pick-up location.

Multi-Service Type Booking

Should it get really tricky for passengers to book a GrabCar, Grab has also enhanced ride reliability by increasing chances of successful ride allocation under Multi-Service Type Booking.

Users can also take advantage of this feature by selecting multiple service types in a single booking. Suppose a GrabCar Four-Seater isn’t available at the time, a Grab Six-Seater will fill in.

By expanding the pool of drivers that can be tapped for a passenger there is reduction in the passenger wait time. It also increases the allocation rate amongst Grab drivers, giving them more bookings so they can likewise spend the holiday season with smiles on their faces.

With these measures in tow for Grab’s transport offerings, the platform aims to provide convenient and reliable trips this holiday season.

Apps

Google Photos can now censor your kid’s face better

The new Redact feature can censor sensitive information.

Published

September 25, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Censoring photos is heavy work. Either you stick on random emojis or draw an indiscriminate splotch of doodles to cover sensitive information. It’s an imperfect art but an essential one to protect privacy. Today, Google Photos is getting a Redact feature which can censor sensitive bits with pixelated blocks.

An addition to the Markup tool, Redact acts like a nifty pen that can hide information that you don’t want seen. Unlike a ghastly emoji or a splotch, the censored bar mixes better with the surrounding elements. In the example that Google used, a censored license plate blends well with the car it’s attached to, making the photo look more cohesive. Besides license plates, it’s the perfect tool for covering other information like phone numbers, addresses, and the faces of your loved ones.

Google Photos is also rolling out Moods, a set of filters that give photos a nostalgic look, including a 2000s night digicam vibe that’s popular today. There are also 15 new Remix templates to add more creation options.

Both the Redact and the Moods features will roll out to Android users starting today. The new Remix templates, however, will be limited to some countries on both Android and iOS.

Apps

Smart launches LiveSmart App for exclusive deals

Exclusive deals, cashback, and bill payments in one app.

Published

September 18, 2026

GadgetMatch

Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and TNT have launched the LiveSmart App, a new platform that combines loading, bill payments, exclusive offers, and other everyday transactions in one app.

The app is available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. It is open to Smart, TNT, and subscribers of other mobile networks.

The LiveSmart App gives users access to exclusive deals and savings. These include cashback offers, discounted Smart and TNT data packages, and limited-time access to AI.Smart.

“Filipinos are becoming more deliberate about where they spend and how they can get more value from every peso,” said Lloyd R. Manaloto, FVP and OIC for Smart. “The LiveSmart App is designed to help make those everyday decisions a little smarter, by giving users convenient ways to load, pay bills, and access exclusive savings and offers in one place.”

Exclusive deals and perks

Smart and TNT are rolling out several offers on the LiveSmart App starting September 18.

Smart and TNT subscribers can get 5% cashback when they purchase load or pay their Smart Postpaid bill through the app.

The app also offers data packages at exclusive prices. Smart Prepaid subscribers can get Power All 109 for PHP 105, while TNT subscribers can get Saya All 109 for PHP 105.

Users who download the LiveSmart App may also receive limited-time free access to AI.Smart.

AI.Smart combines multiple AI models, including AWS Nova, ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, and Thinking Machines, in one workspace. Users can use it to generate images, create presentations, draft documents and spreadsheets, and get help with schoolwork, content creation, and other projects.

To claim the free AI.Smart credits, users need to tap the AI.Smart banner in the LiveSmart App. They then need to create an AI.Smart account using their Smart or TNT number.

Smart says users can also expect more exclusive deals and perks from lifestyle partners as it expands the LiveSmart App.

Powered by Smart 5G

The LiveSmart App runs on Smart’s network. Smart 5G supports activities such as video streaming, gaming, and real-time social media sharing.

The company said Ookla recently recognized its network for the Best Mobile Video Experience in the Philippines for the first half of 2026. Smart recorded a Video Score of 72.82, which it said was the highest among mobile operators in the country.

The LiveSmart App is now available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Users can learn more about the app through Smart’s website.

Apps

Apple’s best feature to cure motion sickness is finally on Android

Google copies a good page from Apple’s playbook.

Published

September 15, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

As an Android user, I’ve been jealous of iPhone users for a while now, but it’s not for the reason you might think. See, I’m ridiculously prone to motion sickness when I’m not driving. So, when I discovered that Apple has a software-based cure called Vehicle Motion Cues, I wanted it immediately. Now, Android does have third-party apps that do the same thing, but they’re not as good as a fully native version. Well, those dark, nauseating days are about to come to an end. Android 17 is finally getting a similar tool called Motion assist.

Before that, let’s rewind for a bit. What do these features do? How can they cure motion sickness?

Whenever you open Vehicle Motion Cues or Motion assist, the interface spawns a series of dots on the screen. These dots respond to movement. For example, if the vehicle turns to the left, the dots also go to the left, mimicking the movement. Without cues like this, the stationary nature of the screen clashes with our brain’s perception of movement. The disparity creates that feeling of nausea. Basically, our eyes are desperately trying to focus on the static screen, but our brains are telling us that we should be seeing motion. Having moving dots reorients our brain and places the phone inside our perception of movement.

Now, you can enable the same feature on your Android 17 device through Settings > All services > Motion assist under Personal & device safety. You can also set it so that the feature turns on automatically when the phone detects that you’re in a moving vehicle. Finally, you can also tweak the shape, color, and opacity of these dots.

Android 17’s Motion assist is rolling out now to compatible devices.