Light Adds Uber and Lyft Rideshare Tool to Minimalist Phones

Owners of either device can use the Rideshare tool to find pickup and drop-off locations, see fares and estimated arrival times, and choose different trip options or saved locations they visit frequently, according to The Verge. They can book the ride, then view information about the driver and ETA, and call the driver if necessary.

The integration works through a partnership with Tremp, which already operates an SMS-based way to order rideshares. Users set up access through Light’s dashboard website, just as they do with other LightOS tools.

Using the service is not free. Tremp charges a 10 percent service fee with a $2 minimum, though it will waive that fee for the first five rides within 30 days of creating an account, The Verge reported.

Light said in a blog post that it will open user submissions for the Tool Library by the end of the month and expects to make them available to everyone a few weeks later. “We’ll open up user submissions for the Tool Library by the end of this month, and look forward to having those available to everyone a few weeks after that!” the company wrote.

The Verge noted that the pictures show the necessary features operating, but that the tool will have to be seen in operation to determine whether there are any hang-ups. The expansion of app-like features on a minimalist smartphone may seem counterintuitive, but Light cofounder Kaiwei Tang has addressed that previously, saying, “I’m not trying to design vintage phones… I want to design all this modern technology, from the ground up, and eliminate all the bullshit.”

That is why adding one feature users absolutely need access to—whether it is a way to call for a ride, access to Spotify playlists, or something else—might be a way to keep them from swapping back to another device with more algorithms and alerts that constantly pop up, according to The Verge.