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Yahoo Mail revamps its mobile web experience, releases Android Go app

Welcome to Your New Inbox

Yahoo has launched two new initiatives to help provide an enjoyable and efficient experience regardless of storage capacity, network speeds, or location. Users will now have access to a newly revamped Yahoo Mail mobile web experience, along with an optimized app for Android Go phones.

With the new mobile browser, users will have a variety of the same features as the Yahoo Mail app without having to take up storage by downloading another app. Upon logging in through your browser, you’re able to organize your inbox by swiping right to mark emails as read and left to delete. Other actions include deleting, forwarding, replying, and more, with the access toolbar made available once a message is open.

For further organization, there’s a sidebar menu where you can access all your folders and store important emails. When it comes to searching through emails, the addition of infinite scrolling allows you to scroll all the way to the bottom of your inbox rather than tapping “next” each time you want to see more.

As for composing emails, the autosuggest feature makes it easy to find emails rather than having to manually type them in or search for them. By typing in the first few letters, it will generate a list of email addresses you send emails to frequently.

There are options for customization as well. The new mobile web browser offers a variety of new colors and themes — with light and dark backgrounds — to personalize your inbox. By adding the Yahoo Mail mobile browser to your home screen as an icon, it essentially begins to behave as an app without having to install anything. You can also opt in to receive notifications whenever you receive emails.

Its Android Go app was released for Android Go phones Google launched in May of last year. Google designed it specifically for devices with low memory for use in areas where patchy networks make it tough to access the web. For Yahoo, releasing a Go app didn’t require straying too far away from its original Yahoo Mail app for Android since it was already lightweight.

“Our main Android app was really close to what the requirements for Go were … We really optimized it for the download footprint. You’re basically getting all of our core Android mail features, so you’re really not missing anything,” Joshua Jacobson, senior director of product management for Yahoo Mail, told Digital Trends.

When it comes to the RAM usage on devices, the Yahoo Mail Go app uses 50 megabytes with an install size below 10 megabytes. Jacobson said the team was able to optimize the graphics for lower-resolution screens, as well the language packs — since Go phones are more prominent in developing markets like India and Brazil.

The Go app supports multiple accounts, allowing users to set and save different themes for each. As with the main Yahoo Mail app, you’ll also see photos of each of the senders whenever they email you. Other features include autosuggest for contacts you email often, as well as tools like adding GIFs, stationary, and more. Users are also able to archive and delete emails straight from the notification.

For those with a smartphone running the Android Oreo (Go Edition) operating system, Yahoo Mail Go is currently available for download via the Google Play Store.

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