Yahoo Finance Alphabet (GOOGL) Boosts Android Tablets With Gmail Update
Alphabet GOOGL is strengthening Gmail capabilities on Android on the back of feature updates.
In this regard, Gmail on Android tablets now features a navigation rail and a floating bar for conversations, with the Google Chat home screen redesign featuring three tabs and updated widgets.
Further, the new navigation rail feature shrinks the inbox/message list without affecting the message body.
Alphabet is expected to gain solid traction across Android tablet users on the back of its latest move.
Alphabet Inc. Price and Consensus
Alphabet Inc. price-consensus-chart | Alphabet Inc. Quote
Android Tablets in Focus
Apart from the Gmail update, Alphabet introduced a Gboard update, which now provides a physical keyboard toolbar on Android tablets, improving the experience for Bluetooth or USB keyboard users by optimizing apps for large-screen devices.
Alphabet also unveiled Google Drive's large-screen optimizations, with a clear trend toward incorporating the website UI onto Android tablets and foldables.
The company also redesigned Docs, Sheets and Slides for Android tablets and foldables, featuring a modernized visual design with a pill-shaped Material 3 toolbar for font and formatting.
Another update enables Chrome to load a website's desktop mode on "premium" Android tablets with at least 8 GB of RAM and a 10-inch or larger display.
Strengthening Google Services Segment
All the above-mentioned endeavors will likely strengthen Alphabet’s Android offerings. This, in turn, will boost its Google Services segment, which remains the key growth catalyst for Alphabet. Its shares have rallied 54.2% in the past year compared with the Zacks Computer & Technology sector’s growth of 53.6%.
Notably, Google added new features to its Google Messages app, including a "plus" shortcut, offering Android users a redesign, including a left-facing compose field and an emoji shortcut, along with Magic Compose, a new Gallery icon and a plus menu at the right.
Alphabet also added a Sports widget to its Google app, providing a comprehensive view of teams' upcoming, live or past matches.
Further, the widget boasts features like a Knowledge Graph card, resizing for enhanced visibility, a “Last updated” notification feature, and separate sections for “Your games” and “Trending games.”
The company’s growing endeavors to strengthen the Google Services offerings are expected to aid its overall financial performance in the days ahead.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 total revenues stands at $283.39 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 11.26%.
The consensus mark for 2024 earnings is pegged at $6.74 per share, which has risen by 5 cents in the past 30 days.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Currently, Alphabet carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Arista Networks ANET, NVIDIA NVDA and Itron ITRI, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Arista Networks shares have returned 116.5% over the past year. The long-term earnings growth rate for ANET is pegged at 19.77%.
Shares of NVIDIA have returned 240.6% over the past year. The long-term earnings growth rate for NVDA is currently projected at 13.5%.
Shares of Itron have gained 22.3% over the past year. The long-term earnings growth rate for ITRI is currently projected at 23%.
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Itron, Inc. (ITRI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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