You'll soon be able to order a McDonald's from your phone

Ordering food through an app is a familiar experience for a lot of us now but it sounds like the biggest fast food chain of them all is getting involved - sources speaking to Business Insider say McDonald's is planning to roll out mobile ordering sometime in 2017.

That means you'll be able to tap out your order for a Big Mac and fries while you're on the way to your local McDonald's, or while you're standing in line. The app is going to handle payments too so you don't have to fish around in your pockets for change.

The app is set to launch in the US, Australia, Canada, France and the UK next year, and by 2018 the service will be available at up to 25,000 restaurants worldwide, according to a McDonald's spokesperson.

Eat in or take away

It's strange that McDonald's has waited so long to launch an app like this - the company is usually one of the first to test out new technology, like Apple Pay at tills and the touchscreen ordering system you might have seen appearing at a few restaurants.

Apparently letting hungry customers order from their phones will cut down on waiting times and improve order accuracy. It should also make getting some fast food easier when you're on tour in a country where you don't speak the local lingo.

After you've placed your order, geolocation technology will alert the restaurant when you've arrived, so your food can be prepared. A lot of the hardware required for the system is already being installed, McDonald's says.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.