Apple nearly made a deal with Uber for its new same-day delivery service, before ditching them in favor of startup courier service Postmates Inc., according to a new report.
Apple allegedly considered adopting Uber’s new delivery project, known internally as UberEverything. Starbucks also entered into negotiations with the taxi company, before settling on the same delivery service as Apple.
Exactly why Apple decided against Uber isn’t made clear in the article, although same-day delivery is a fiercely-competitive field with a number of startups — alongside established giants — operating in the space.
It’s possible that Postmates simply made a better bid for Apple’s services, but it should be noted that Uber has sometimes suffered from a poor reputation when it comes to customer service, which is just about the polar opposite of Apple’s acclaimed reputation in this area.
Apple launched its same-day delivery service late last month, currently available for only a limited number of products, such as Apple TV and Lightning cables. While the service is very speedy, with deliveries arriving within a matter of hours, for now it’s only an option in the select cities where Postmates operates.
Source: WSJ
Luke Dormehl is a U.K.-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Apple Revolution and The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems … and Create More, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme and other publications.
4 responses to “Apple almost signed Uber to handle its same-day deliveries”
I’m sorry, but I’m glad Apple didn’t consider Uber [and also shocked they’d consider them in the first place]. There is something very arrogant, unsavory and predatory about that company. The opposite of Apple’s declared ethos.
Those words pretty much describe Apple too.
….. in YOUR opinion. Certainly NOT in mine.
Just think about it. Actually just Google Apple arrogant and predatory you will see what I mean. Not saying I don’t like apple but all companies are just about the same.