Starbucks Takes Orders From iPhones
Good news if you live in Portland, Oregon: You need no longer go through the laborious process of ordering a coffee with your voice and paying with cash, like some kind of plebian. The Starbucks Mobile Order & Pay feature for the Starbucks iOS app lets you use your phone to order your morning sustenance, and it will soon reach other parts of the country and Android platforms.
Starbucks' website details the new feature, which makes use of both the existing Starbucks app as well as the My Starbucks Rewards program. Mobile Order & Pay uses a phone's GPS to locate the nearest Starbucks, then places an order for whatever food or beverages the customer wishes to consume.
MORE: 100+ Tech Gift Ideas for Holiday 2014
From there, the app's features are fairly predictable. Customers can customize drinks, pay with a Starbucks Card (credit card payment does not seem to be an option at this time), see an estimated wait time for the order and get directions to the chosen store, if necessary.
While the service is currently restricted to iOS devices in Portland, other regions and Android phones will begin receiving Mobile Order & Pay options in 2015. The dates are tentative and subject to change based on how Mobile Order & Pay performs in its test market, though.
Ordering overpriced coffee on your phone may not change your lifestyle, but it could save a few minutes during your morning routine. The Starbucks app is free, so if you're in Portland, give it a download and see if it works.
Marshall Honorof is a Staff Writer for Tom's Guide. Contact him at mhonorof@tomsguide.com. Follow him @marshallhonorof. Follow us @tomsguide, on Facebook and on Google+.
Copyright 2014 Toms Guides , a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
