A new look for Gmail

Word that Google is gearing up to implement a redesign for its Gmail web suite recently cropped up, following the “leak” of an email discussing the change.

The email, which was sent to G Suite administrators and customers last week, contained information and screenshots of the forthcoming changes. A tipster named Chaim is noted to have shared the screenshots to various tech news sites and blogs.

Based on the “leaked” screenshots, it appears that Google is consolidating its Material Design concept to Gmail for web, integrating current Gmail elements with Google’s “Inbox” app for mobile devices.

New functions like a “Smart Reply” feature and the option to “snooze” emails appear to be part of the refresh’s pim of highlights, alongside buttons-based graphic-user-interface updates over word-based options and/or callouts.

Google has since confirmed that it will be implementing the refresh soon, but has yet to indicate when it’ll be rolled. The internet-of-things giant has not yet released official documentation on the changes (screenshots and the like) to the general public.

Summit goes digital

Summit Media, one of the country’s leading magazine publishers, announced last week that it is nixing print editions of titles under its wing.

Digital editions of Cosmopolitan Philippines, Preview, Yes Magazine, Top Gear, FHM and Town and Country will continue on via their respective websites, which rakes in a total of over 20 million unique viewers monthly. The websites’ statistics are backed by the brands’ cumulative 33 million followers on various social media platforms.

The print closure announcement comes some 23 years since Summit began publishing glossy publications. It aims to continue its tradition of quality in its now full-digital direction, as well as reinvent itself into the country’s leading digital lifestyle network.

Cortana for Android beta reads out texts

The latest beta (for-testing version) of Microsoft’s Cortana for Android highlights “read aloud” features for text messages.

Announced via a private Google + community page, the beta update makes it possible for Cortana users to not only send texts via voice commands, but to have the digital assistant read texts that land into their inbox. It also comes with provisions for Bluetooth-based pairing, allowing users to link their device with compatible Bluetooth speakers.

Initially released in 2014, Cortana is Microsoft’s answer to popular digital assistant suites like Apple’s “Siri.” Preview versions of the suite for Android were released late last year. More information on its current beta for Android is hosted on its official Google Play page.