Rider-side delivery app
An iOS + Android app for delivery riders — built around their reality: bad signal, gloves, one-handed use, and a battery that has to last a 10-hour shift.
Most rider apps are built by engineers in offices. The riders use them in rain, on bikes, with gloves, in basements with no signal. The app shows a spinner; the rider misses a drop.
- 01
Designed offline-first: every action queues locally and syncs when signal returns. No spinner is a permanent state.
- 02
Built large tap targets, high-contrast UI, dark-mode by default — visible at 6 AM and 10 PM.
- 03
Implemented map prefetch for the next three drops so the rider keeps moving even underground.
- 04
Wired voice notifications for the critical events (new order, customer calling) so the rider doesn't unlock the phone.
- 05
Built a 'shift battery' indicator — predicts whether the phone will last to end of shift based on use pattern.
“If your app needs a stable connection and clean hands, it isn't a rider app. It's an office prototype.”
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Riders complete more drops per hour, with fewer mistakes.
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Support tickets from riders drop sharply.
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Operations gain truth-grade signal because the data syncs reliably.
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Onboarding a new rider takes 15 minutes, not a half-day.
Want something like this in your business? Start with a discovery call.