Google Launches Major Gmail Redesign

Today, Google announced a long list of updates to Gmail. The new features, which are beginning to roll out worldwide are focused primarily on security, artificial intelligence, and the incorporation of modern email features, some of which were first tested in the company’s Inbox app.

Google has addressed phishing with new, prominent warnings in the Gmail update. For sensitive information, Google is adding a ‘confidential mode’ in the coming weeks that will let users set expiration dates for messages and even revoke previously-sent messages. Google is also implementing per-message level two-factor authentication, which requires authentication via text message. Finally, users will be able to preclude message recipients from forwarding, copying, downloading, or printing messages.

Google is adding AI-powered functionality to Gmail. Nudging is a feature that will remind you of messages you haven’t responded to yet, so they don’t get lost. Gmail is also adding quick replies, which suggest responses based on the contents of the messages you receive.

The web interface of Gmail is getting several new features too. There’s a sidebar on the right-hand side of the screen for quick access to several Google apps and Gmail Add-Ons from third parties. A hover-over menu lets users RSVP to meeting invitations, archive message threads, and snooze messages. You can also view attachments without opening the message to which a document is attached. A new offline mode is available too, which will be a welcome addition for travelers when an Internet connection is unavailable.

Most of the changes to Gmail are to its web interface, but a couple of changes are coming to Gmail’s mobile apps in the coming weeks including high-priority notifications that only notify users of important messages and a one-tap unsubscribe feature.

Many of the new Gmail features are being rolled out globally in phases, so you may not see them right away. Google says others will be available in the upcoming weeks. Individual Gmail users can check the Settings menu for the updates and pick ‘Try the new Gmail’ to activate the new functionality. If you use G Suite, the new functionality can be turned on by participants in the G Suite Early Adopter Program from the Admin console.

Microcasting on Micro.blog with Wavelength

Last month I covered the return of Sunlit, the iOS photo blogging app from Manton Reece that works with Micro.blog and blogging platforms like WordPress. Reece is back with another iOS app that’s aimed at bringing microcasting, which is short-form podcasting, to Micro.blog. Wavelength is an end-to-end solution for recording, editing, and publishing audio using nothing but an iPhone. It’s an interesting approach to podcasting designed to lower the barriers to entry by simplifying the workflow, while also creating new uses for Micro.blog.

Read more

Spotify Announces Improvements to Mobile App for Both Free and Paid Tiers→

Today Spotify held an event in New York City where it announced several changes to its mobile app that impact users of both free and paid tiers of the service. Jordan Crook reports for TechCrunch:

Spotify’s…free tier has always limited users to shuffle. With the new version, users can listen on-demand to whatever song they want, as many times as they want, as long as those songs appear on one of the 15 personalized discovery playlists like Daily Mix, Discover Weekly, Release Radar or Today’s Top Hits.

Considering the breadth of Spotify’s discovery playlists, the ability to choose songs from those playlists on-demand is a significant change. Crook also mentions how machine learning is being used not just to impact the quality of those discovery playlists, but also, now, to help users make better playlists themselves. This new feature, called “assisted playlisting,” aids in playlist creation by recommending songs below the search field that are similar to the songs you searched for.

Another noteworthy change is that Spotify introduced a new “data saver” mode for its app that reportedly cuts data use by up to 75% when streaming music. This feature is available to all users, but it’s particularly beneficial to free tier users who don’t have the option of downloading songs for offline playback.

Each of these updates are currently being rolled out to all users of the Spotify app; it’s unclear if an App Store update will be necessary, or if the changes will all be server-side.

Unlike Apple Music, which only exists as a paid service, Spotify has the challenge of balancing the features of its paid and free tiers in a way that satisfies free users, while simultaneously encouraging them to upgrade. Today’s improvements seem to do a great job of that by leveraging one of Spotify’s strengths over Apple Music – machine learning-powered personalized playlists. The deeper invested you are in teaching the service your likes and dislikes, the more likely you are to eventually become a paid Spotify user rather than jumping ship to Apple Music.

Permalink

Clean Up Your Inbox Today (and Keep It That Way Forever) with SaneBox [Sponsor]

What if you had someone who would sort through your email and find only the important messages? That is exactly what SaneBox does. After you set it up, SaneBox leaves your important messages in your inbox and moves the rest to a SaneLater folder for reviewing later. That initial inbox purge is powerful because it reduces your inbox to a manageable number of messages. With additional training to tell SaneBox what’s important to you, it only gets better at dealing with the daily deluge of messages.

There’s much more to SaneBox than shuffling unimportant messages into a designated folder, though. If there’s something you never want to see ever again, send it to the SaneBlackHole, which is much easier than unsubscribing to unwanted messages.

You can also set up SaneReminders by sending messages to an address that sends a reminder to you at a later date if the recipient of your message hasn’t responded after a certain amount of time. Or forward messages to SaneReminders to have them pop back into your inbox at a later date when you are ready to deal with them.

SaneBox works on top of your existing email setup. There’s no app to download or new email account to set up. It all works server-side so you can use any email client you want.

Sign up today for a free 14-day SaneBox trial to take back control of your email. MacStories readers can receive a special $25 credit automatically by using this link to sign up.

Our thanks to SaneBox for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Apple Marks Earth Day with Donations, Daisy the Recycling Robot, and an Apple Watch Challenge

Apple has issued a press release announcing that from today through April 30th, the company will make a donation to Conservation International for each device turned in for recycling through Apple’s GiveBack program. The company also took the opportunity to introduce Daisy, its next-generation iPhone recycling robot.

Through Apple GiveBack, devices can be recycled in person at an Apple Store or using apple.com. In exchange for eligible devices, customers will receive in-store credit or an Apple gift card and Apple will donate to Conservation International, which:

…uses science, policy and partnerships to protect the natural world people rely on for food, fresh water and livelihood. Founded in 1987, the organization works in more than 30 countries on six continents to ensure a healthy, prosperous planet.

Apple introduced the world to its iPhone disassembly robot dubbed ‘Liam’ in 2016. According to Apple, its successor Daisy:

…is the most efficient way to reclaim more of the valuable materials stored in iPhone. Created through years of R&D, Daisy incorporates revolutionary technology based on Apple’s learnings from Liam, its first disassembly robot launched in 2016. Daisy is made from some of Liam’s parts and is capable of disassembling nine versions of iPhone and sorting their high-quality components for recycling. Daisy can take apart up to 200 iPhone devices per hour, removing and sorting components, so that Apple can recover materials that traditional recyclers can’t — and at a higher quality.

Apple’s press release includes a video showcasing Daisy in action too.

Finally, notifications are being sent to Apple Watch users today announcing an Earth Day fitness challenge. Users who complete a 30-minute workout this Sunday, April 22nd will earn a special badge in the Apple Watch and iOS Activities apps and iMessage stickers.

Tim Cook Doesn’t Believe Users Want Apple to Merge the Mac and iPad→

Peter Wells has an interesting story in The Sydney Morning Herald about the much-rumored merger of Macs and iOS devices. Wells interviewed Apple CEO Tim Cook at the education event that was held late last month in Chicago. During the conversation, Wells asked Cook about Microsoft’s convertible Windows 10 strategy and how it compared to Apple’s approach to OSes. Cook responded:

“We don’t believe in sort of watering down one for the other. Both [The Mac and iPad] are incredible. One of the reasons that both of them are incredible is because we pushed them to do what they do well. And if you begin to merge the two … you begin to make trade offs and compromises.

”So maybe the company would be more efficient at the end of the day. But that’s not what it’s about. You know it’s about giving people things that they can then use to help them change the world or express their passion or express their creativity. So this merger thing that some folks are fixated on, I don’t think that’s what users want.”

Especially since Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported on rumors of an Apple initiative codenamed Project Marzipan designed to bring aspects of iOS to the Mac, there has been speculation about whether it might be the first step in an eventual merger of the two operating systems. Although Cook’s comments are interesting in the context of the rumors that have circulated, he was asked about Microsoft’s Windows 10 strategy, not Apple’s plans for its platforms. I think it’s safe to say that Cook believes iOS devices and Macs are good for different tasks, which suggests that the Mac’s form factor isn’t at imminent risk, but I don’t think you can draw any conclusions from his comments about the chipsets or operating system that may drive Macs in the future.

Permalink

Connected, Episode 189: Nah, Hummus!→

Stephen and Myke are still recovering from a trip to Atlanta, and it shows in this discussion of the future of iOS and digital magazines. Federico thankfully saves the episode by sharing some about Drafts 5.

On this week’s episode of Connected, we try to understand the role of digital magazines in the modern web landscape and talk about Drafts 5. You can listen here.

Sponsored by:

  • Linode: High performance SSD Linux servers for all of your infrastructure needs. Get a $20 credit with promo code ‘connected2018’
  • Pingdom: Start monitoring your websites and servers today. Use offer code CONNECTED to get 30% off.
  • Hover: Show the world what you’re passionate about with 10% off your first purchase
Permalink