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McDonald's brings mobile ordering to the UK
Mobile ordering is big in the UK, so it's surprising to see a big name like McDonald's is only now getting its own systems in order. As BuzzFeed News reports, it today pushed live a new feature in its iOS and Android apps that lets customers in selected locations order and pay for their meal before they go in store. The confirmation comes just days after the company enabled a similar feature in the US.
McDonald's tests mobile ordering on coastal elite
If you've ever thought that fast food wasn't fast enough, then it looks like McDonald's latest initiative has you covered. The takeout chain has begun trialling mobile ordering at restaurants in Monterey and Salinas, California. Hungry patrons will now be able to select their meal on the way to their nearest location for instant collection. The app will even use your GPS data to determine when your burgers start getting cooked, ensuring your food stays warm and fresh. When you arrive, you just pay through the app and grab that famous brown bag from the counter, drive-thru or curbside collection point.
We tried McDonald's super-engineered shake straw
As part of this year's St. Patrick's Day promotions, McDonald's is debuting a highly engineered, hyper-exclusive straw dubbed the "Suction Tube for Reverse Axial Withdrawal," or STRAW for short. It's only available on two days, February 24th and March 1st, with a scant 2,000 of them spread across the entire country. We managed to get our hands on one, however, and put it to a chocolate-minty test.
McDonald's has re-engineered drinking straws
Of all the tech innovations coming out of McDonald's, we never would have expected the humble drinking straw needed a redesign. But that's exactly what a team of robotic and aerospace engineers did as part of a marketing push for the burger chain's new Chocolate Shamrock Shake.
Google gives up on 'Hands Free' wireless mobile payments
Google has ended its "Hands Free" payment scheme, which let you live the retail dream of paying wirelessly with no need to pull out a card or phone. The program, which ran only in San Francisco's South Bay area, first detects if you're in a participating store using your smartphone's location services. If you say you're "paying with Google," it then completes the transaction over Bluetooth LE or WiFi, with the cashier verifying the purchase using your photo ID.
Mario and pals are coming back to UK Happy Meals this week
The most famous Italian plumber, well... ever has been unexpectedly popping up all over the place lately. But skateboard shoes, late-night TV and smartphones were just the beginning. Now Mario is sliding back into Happy Meals from McDonald's according to Nintendo Life. His appearance is flawlessly timed ahead of this week's big livestream for the Wii U successor, Switch, too.
McDonald's is testing mobile ordering
Over the last couple of years, a trend among fast food franchises has focused on reducing customers' wait time by allowing them to order and pay ahead of time on their mobile devices. Starbucks, Domino's, Dunkin Donuts, Chipotle and Taco Bell (especially Taco Bell) already allow for mobile ordering. However, McDonald's has noticeably lagged behind its competitors. However, according to a Business Insider report out Friday, Micky Dees is about to catch back up.
The Engadget Podcast, Ep 2: One More Robot
In Episode Two: One More Robot, editors Cherlynn Low, Dana Wollman and Chris Velazco join host Terrence O'Brien to talk about how fitness trackers ruined Happy Meals, the true potential of AI and try to figure out what monster would want the backspace key to navigate back a page in Chrome.
McDonald's pulls plug on Happy Meal activity trackers
McDonald's Happy Meals might be beloved for their included toys, but the food inside is just as unhealthy as most of the menu at the Golden Arches. As the Rio Olympics approached, the franchise hoped to reverse its kids combo's poor nutritional reputation by including an activity tracker in place of a normal toy. Unfortunately, reports of possible skin irritations prompted the chain to end the promotion early.
McDonald's hands out activity trackers with Happy Meals
For more than three decades, McDonald's has handed out toys with Happy Meals. It's been long argued that the gifts incentivize parents and children to eat more fast food, leading to health issues like obesity and diabetes. While we've seen more educational and surprising tech inclusions, like VR goggles, toys that promote fitness and physical activity have been very few and far between (although the company did once include a pedometer with special Go Active! adult Happy Meals back in 2004). With the Olympics now dominating headlines, the fast-food giant is encouraging kids to get moving with a new "STEP-it" fitness tracker. Every Happy Meal sold in the US and Canada will include one of six wrist-worn pedometers that also blink slowly or quickly depending on a child's activity. "Step-it is in line with McDonald's general philosophy for Happy Meal toys, which is to make toys that encourage either physical or imagination-based play," McDonald's Canada Senior Marketing Manager, Michelle McIImoyle, explains to CityNews.
'Pokemon Go' launches in Japan under golden arches
Despite being the true home of Pocket Monsters, until today, Japanese fans weren't able to download the smartphone phenomenon that is Pokemon Go. As rumored, Niantic Labs' game launches in Pikachu's homeland with a promotional tie-in with McDonald's (it's already offering Pokemon toys with its kids' meals in anticipation) and the app maker says more sponsored locales and events are on their way. Ingress, the location-based game that preceded Pokemon Go, ran multiple promotions with companies including McDonald's and SoftBank in Japan -- as well as Jamba Juice in the US. Expect see plenty more sponsored locations in Pokemon Go (well, gotta make some money when the app is free to download), but what exactly do the sponsored locations entail? The good news is that the tie-in doesn't seem to change much at all -- and could even be good news for some players.
Embrace your inner DJ with McDonald's McTrax placemat
Would you like a side of sick beats with those french fries? McDonald's Netherlands has you covered with the McTrax Placemat, a sheet of paper that allows you to connect with your smartphone to channel your inner Diplo.
McDonald's places a large order of Samsung tablets in the UK
If you make a trip to a McDonald's in the coming months, expect to see a few tablets. As part of an agreement with device management company SOTI, the fast food chain plans to install Samsung Galaxy Tabs in the "majority" of its UK restaurants, giving you the chance to play games, check Facebook or browse the web while you eat.
ICYMI: Supersonic jetliner, the issue of sea sponge and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-37467{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-37467, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-37467{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-37467").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: NASA gave Lockheed Martin $20 million to make a preliminary design of a supersonic jetliner that will break the sound barrier without a sonic boom. Stanford students are putting a self-driving Audi through a race course to improve AI algorithms. And MIT says it has found proof that sea sponges are the first animal on earth. Finally, Sweden's McDonald's has a new happy meal box that turns into a virtual reality headset. As always, please share any interesting science or tech videos, anytime! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.
In Sweden, McDonald's Happy Meals come with VR goggles
Swedish kids (and adults) can get a toy much sweeter than Barbies and Hot Wheels with their Happy Meals this month. Over the weekends of March 5th and March 12th, 14 McDonald's outlets in Sweden are bundling real, working virtual reality headsets with their Happy Meal boxes. In fact, the boxes themselves were designed to transform into "Happy Goggles." You just have to cut on the dotted line, fold it a bit, slip in the goggles and your phone to get something similar to Google Cardboard. The best part is, it will only cost you around $4.10, and that includes the grub inside. It most likely won't be as good as more expensive VR devices, but it sounds like an affordable introduction to the world of virtual reality.
The After Math: 'Murica!
With the presidential elections just under a year away, the American political season is kicking into high gear. But the race to be Commander in Chief isn't the only thing going on in this country. We've got veterans getting new members, Chicken McNugget dispensers and hoverboard bans as well! Here's your United States, by the numbers.
Why not make a McNugget vending machine out of Legos?
The answer? Because after about 15 minutes they're not nearly as good. That minor hiccup aside, the YouTubers at Astonishing Studios have created this to celebrate the glorious food-like item that is the chicken nugget. Built and automated entirely by Lego Mindstorms, it can identify and process the proper payment before dispensing a four piece package of McNuggets on demand, with sauce. It only holds a couple of cartons, but without any way to heat -- of course Japan has that figured out -- or cool them, that sounds about right.
Android Pay coming to US on August 26th, according to McDonald's
It's hard to get super excited about mobile payments, but Android Pay will give a large number of folks a new way to pay for things. A new document from McDonald's unearthed by Android Police shows that the restaurant chain is preparing its employees to accept Android Pay starting on August 26th. Separately, another employee posted a photo on Reddit showing a similar document. For its part, Google has only said that Android Pay will arrive at the same time as Android 6 "Marshmallow," but has yet to reveal the date.
ICYMI: A creepy mechanical centaur, flying R2-D2 and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-976485{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-976485, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-976485{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-976485").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The nightmare-like genius of Theo Jansen's Strandbeest inspired a Segway-like inventor to get creepy with personal transport. Comic-Con attendees will of course see R2-D2; but this time, he'll also be flying overhead. And a new 3D-printed robot is inspired by a species of mussel to jump and bounce without breaking.
McDonald's will deliver your Big Mac, if you're in New York City
What's that? You want a Big Mac combo for lunch but don't have time to venture out? Well, if you happen to be in New York City, McDonald's will soon bring that double-decker burger to you. The company announced today that it will test a 24-hour delivery service in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan as part of a partnership with Postmates. If you'll recall, that startup powers similar delivery options for Starbucks and Chipotle. This news comes as part of CEO Steve Easterbrook's plan to turnaround the fast food chain's business by focusing on better food and acting on customer feedback -- all-day breakfast, sirloin burgers and "artisan" chicken were mentioned. It's going to be an uphill climb for the Golden Arches too, as the franchise will close 700 total stores this year. Looking to try the new service? You'll be able to do just that starting today from NYC's 88 participating locations. Don't expect ice cream, though, and you'll want to order $10 worth of food to avoid a delivery fee. [Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
