Uber targets emerging markets with slimmed-down Lite app

Uber is shrinking the size of its app in order to expand its presence in emerging markets.

Uber Lite, the company announced today, is a smaller version of the ride-hail app designed to reach customers in areas with less-than-stellar coverage; the app is launching in India before rolling out to additional countries later this year.

Uber is touting Lite as a “simpler version” of its main product that eats up just 5MB of space (or, as the company says, the size equivalent of “just three selfies”) and boasts a 300-millisecond response time.

The redesign makes the app, which will work on any Android phone, useable in regions with slower internet speeds and for people with older phones or limited data.

Additional features on Uber Lite include guided pickups, which locate a central meeting point for riders who can’t connect to GPS, and the ability to opt-in for map functionality.

The Uber Lite pilot program comes after Uber offloaded its Southeast Asia operation to Grab in March. The Grab arrangement followed similar restructuring in China, where Uber struck a deal with Didi in 2016, and in Russia, where it sold to Yandex.