Automatically Updating Emails To Be Introduced By Google

Plans are underway to make Gmail dynamic ensuring that emails are able to feature information that is continuously updating. This would also see emails get more interactive. For instance in the case of an email containing flight booking confirmation, email users would be granted the ability to get updated flight information.

A more dynamic Gmail would also mean that users will be in a position to fill out surveys in the email itself for instance. According to a Gmail product manager, Aakash Sahney, the changes that are coming are made possible by the accelerated mobile pages project of Google. With AMP Google intends to ensure that webpages enjoy faster loading speeds aided by the fact that layers of technology are stripped out.

Faster loading times

Publishers that include the Washington Post and Hearst Corp have been full of praise for AMP since it has made their sites more user-friendly. However there are web developers who are worried that the online search giant is gaining too much power over the internet.

By integrating AMP into Gmail this is the first time that the technology has been broadly used. The technology will however not be limited to Gmail as other email providers will be allowed to adopt AMP if they so wish. This was announced by Google in Amsterdam during a software development conference focusing on AMP.

Initially AMP for email will be targeting bulk senders. This includes retailers for instance who send weekly sales notices and this will ensure that the recipients of the emails will be able to view availability or current prices regardless of the time the email was opened. Some of the firms that are said to be testing accelerated mobile pages for email include Booking.com, scheduling app Doodle and bookmarking service Pinterest.

Google Pixel phones

This comes in the wake of a report by research firm IDC indicating that only 3.9 million Pixel smartphones were shipped by Google last year. Despite the low number it was an improvement from the previous year as it was double the amount. Google’s annual shipments were lower than Apple’s weekly shipments of the iPhone – with Apple having shipped approximately 215 million iPhones last year that works out to about 4.15 million units per week.

Though the Pixel phones have received good reviews Google has failed to turn them into a commercial success. Part of the reason is their limited availability. Currently they are only sold in less than nine countries compared to the iPhone X which is sold in 70 territories and countries.