Ads are coming to Gmail for Android

Gmail for Android got a neat little update late last week that brought a fresh, new look to the mail application along with other tweaks. However, that is not

Nishtha Kanal|Sep 30, 2013, 08:43:26 IST

Gmail for Android got a neat little update late last week that brought a fresh, new look to the mail application along with other tweaks. However, that is not all that Google is bringing to Android. It has been revealed that the application will now support advertisements too.

Yes, the inevitable has happened and Gmail for Android will be supporting advertisements now. An APK teardown of Gmail version 4.6 for Android has revealed an interesting new way by which Google seems to be introducing advertisements to the mobile version of its service.

The mobile version of Gmail, unlike its web counterpart, has not been saddled with advertisements just yet, but this is about to change. While Artem Russakovskii of Android Police is unsure about the type of advertisements that are coming to Gmail, he has noted that a new library called “ads” has been added to the application.

Ads coming soon

It looks like the application will allow you to save advertisements you find interesting and dismiss the ones you don’t. The ads that you have approved of will get added to your inbox like normal messages. While the ads do not seem to be active on Gmail for Android yet, the provisions are in place and the stage seems to be set for ads that may be a little less intrusive than expected.

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Besides advertisements, the APK teardown has revealed that users will now receive warnings about messages that have not been sent out yet. When you visit the Sent folder now, the Gmail team will warn you about messages in your Outbox that have been left behind, thanks to the lack of connectivity or bugs. This move is a great one on Google’s part and will help users know the status of their messages and hopefully avoid duplicates.

Other changes include a slight tweak to notifications of new emails in the drawer that will now show the first letter of the name in the picture thumbnail instead of a generic face and darker UI buttons. The cancel button when you try to send a mail has also been taken off, assuming you can still hit the Back button in case you change your mind.

By Nishtha Kanal

Intrigued by all things social, Nishtha will invariably tweet about you. When not tweeting or writing about the next viral video, you will hear her proclaiming her love to Metallica, James Hetfield, Opeth, Akerfeldt and all bands that go 'growl'. She also obsesses about ACP Pradyuman and South Park and you will always find her moving around with a book. Her focus is on all the happening stuff in the tech domain, and she won't hesitate to take a shot at some of the oddball devices that make their way to our labs.