Yahoo is taking its game up a notch. To provide its users quicker access to news and comments, the company is doing a major overhaul on its homepage, news app and email. The firm's boss Marissa Mayer, in the meantime, is geared up for Yahoo's huge restructuring.
"Now you can find, consume and engage around the news, content and video you care about all in one place, front and center," says Simon Khalaf, Yahoo's senior vice president. "We've made it easier to discover and create conversations with a community around engaging content and follow the latest developing stories in a nearly infinite news stream."
What's New In Yahoo
Straight off the bat, Yahoo is making it easier for its power users to obtain the most recent news and content. With the update onboard, users no longer have to open each and every article in different browser tabs. Rather, users can now simply browse through relevant content inline so they can "sift through more content in less time." Users may even check out related articles by tapping the "heart" icon underneath posts.
What's notable is that the articles Yahoo delivers to its users are now much more tailored to topics they love the most. As such, when you have an account and you spend more time on Yahoo's homepage or app, the company will learn more about your interests.
The new update likewise echoes the desire of the firm to be viewed as a social platform, and not just a news aggregator. Yahoo now makes it possible for users to join the community, start meaningful discussions and talk about their opinions on an assortment of topics or stories. With this new update, users are now able to see comments beneath every article when the comments icon is clicked on.
Yahoo is likewise introducing several alterations to its email app for iOS and Android.
Both Android and iOS versions of the app now allow users to customize their swipes. Users can now swipe right to archive an email or swipe left to mark it as spam. Additionally, users can now opt to star or mark a group of emails as spam. This is done by long pressing to select a number of messages and picking an action via the multi-select toolbar within the app.
For the Android version, users can now star or move messages as soon as they arrive by means of actionable notifications. For the iOS version, however, users can take advantage of a new functionality that allows them to effortlessly search for the file they want to attach. The recently received files and images are now shown alongside the search bar.
The tweaks are now being rolled out to the Yahoo homepage, Yahoo iOS and Android apps and the email app for Android and iOS.
Restructuring Means Layoffs
In the meantime, a report claims that Yahoo's restructuring slowly starts off in "the next two weeks."
Re/code reports that Mayer is thinking of stealth layoffs, which is set to commence in the coming weeks. The layoffs will be based on performance metrics and have been "Mayer's old trick."
According to Re/code's sources, the cuts will be centered on a list of what the Yahoo CEO thinks should be invested in, maintained and killed. For instance, mobile search is high on the priority list for investments, while the company's core media sites such as Yahoo Finance will be maintained. On Mayer's kill list are probably lower-performing media sites and some international assets that failed to deliver in the past year.
Yahoo will be announcing its quarterly earnings on Feb. 2. The company is also expected to reveal its strategic vision for its core Internet business.
