Yahoo Mail gets a facelift, now optimised for Android Go phones

Oath on Wednesday announced that Yahoo Mail is bringing a new application optimised for entry-level Android "Go" smartphones and a new version of its mobile website.

Oath Inc is a subsidiary of Verizon Communications that is the umbrella company of digital content subdivisions including AOL and Yahoo. The Yahoo Mail Go app delivers the same features of the current Android application while keeping the RAM usage on devices below 50MB and the install size below 10MB.

"The original Yahoo Mail app is already extremely lightweight so we didn't have to remove major features to reduce the standard Yahoo Mail app size for Go," the company said in a statement.

"The Go app uses the exact same architecture as the standard Yahoo Mail app," it added.

The company also announced a design overhaul that brings many of the same features that are available for its mobile app users. "In addition to the dramatic feature and design updates, what's changed for Yahoo Mail on mobile browser behind the scenes is equally as notable. The architecture supporting the new browser experience is the same as our modern desktop tech stack which is developed on 'React' and 'Redux'," the company said.

Notably, the new version has no reloads which makes all actions such as deleting emails, marking them as read or as spam, emptying trash, instant.

Top features of new Yahoo Mail app
Swipe through your inbox: ​The ability to take actions on emails quickly and easily by swiping right to mark as read​and left to delete.

Customise your look and feel: ​New colour themes with light and dark backgrounds that allow you to personalize your inbox.

Get organised easily with folders: ​Beautiful sidebar menu with folders for easy organization.

Easier email address search: ​Auto-suggest your most frequent email addresses when you type the first few letters, so sending an email is faster than ever.

Infinite scrolling inbox:​ Scroll all the way down your inbox without having to hit "next" to see more emails.

Take quick action on emails:​ Easily delete, forward, reply and do more from the easy access toolbar once you open a message.

Tech behind new Yahoo Mail

The enhanced version is written in JavaScript and built using Node.js. The basic version of Yahoo mobile web is written in PHP and built using Apache.

The enhanced version uses AJAX. The basic version uses form submit for all user actions.

In the enhanced version, there are no reloads - all actions (e.g., deleting, marking as read, and marking as spam, emptying trash) are instant. The basic version reloads the page on every interaction.

The enhanced version is a fully interactive app-like experience. The basic version has limited interactivity.

(with inputs from Yahoo's press note)