Introduction: The dialogue with a Yahoo engineer prompts reflections - can Mayer's innovation in user experience secure Yahoo a ticket onto the mobile internet ship?Yahoo, over a decade ago, was the most avant-garde entity in the internet industry. It once defined the internet, making both consumers and advertisers fall in love with it, and turning "Do you Yahoo?!" into a phrase as commonplace as asking "Have you eaten?" However, in 2013, the image of Yahoo as a giant has long since disappeared. After losing out to Google in search, Facebook in social media, and a series of CEO dramas, Yahoo hasn't been the top dog for quite some time.Last year, Mayer was appointed by the board and parachuted into Yahoo, bringing with her new policies heavily influenced by Google: absolute focus on mobile internet development, prohibition of employees working from home, and a drastic slimming down of Yahoo (planning to cut four-fifths of non-core products). Last Tuesday, after Mayer had been in charge for a year, the first-quarter financial report was released, showing a year-on-year decline of 11% in core online advertising revenue. Although net profit increased by 36%, this was mainly due to the transaction in September where Yahoo reduced its stake in Alibaba. Yahoo received such evaluations from Wall Street analysts: "Yahoo performs better as an investment company than as an internet company." In the midst of advertisers' hesitation and analysts' pessimism, how much time does Mayer have left to play her trump card? Will mobile internet be Yahoo's end or its rebirth?With these questions in mind, I interviewed a chief engineer from one of Yahoo's core departments in the U.S. He had previously worked at several Big-Name companies including Google and LinkedIn, and had been at Yahoo's U.S. headquarters for more than five years. He privately revealed that he would soon leave Yahoo to focus on his own mobile internet startup.In our conversation, the engineer mentioned the following timely points that left a deep impression on me:1. Yahoo offers high salaries, fostering a laid-back attitude within the company. Many people say that Yahoo, which has lost its luster, is a gathering place for second-tier engineers; however, this chief engineer told me that many top-tier technical personnel choose Yahoo because of the salary. Because if averaged per hour, Yahoo pays quite a lot compared to other Big Names. In companies like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Google, you need to work your fingers to the bone just to keep up; in contrast, Yahoo's culture is relatively relaxed. I suspect that in this company, there are not a few people who, while physically present at Yahoo, have their hearts set on entrepreneurship. Perhaps this could also be considered one of Yahoo's unconventional achievements. Speaking of this, I suddenly understood why Mayer prohibited employees from working from home; although it wasn't popular, it was at least an attempt to reverse the long-standing lax attitude within the company. If a room full of elite employees either want to leave or just want to coast along, then such a Yahoo would have no future.2. Mobile products still have a lot of room for innovation in terms of user experience; this gives Yahoo an opportunity to seize a foothold in mobile internet.3. Mayer, while at Google, specialized in user experience (including designing and developing the Google search interface), and she treats all of Yahoo's products as works of art. She regards design aesthetics and user experience as the key to Yahoo's success in mobile.4. Despite the uncertain road ahead, it remains an undeniable fact that Yahoo still holds 700 million users. What Yahoo lacked before was a leader with a clear vision for development, and now the highly execution-oriented Mayer has brought hope to Yahoo. On the technical side, Google is absolutely the innovation leader, and we don't intend to directly confront it. In this era of mobile internet, Yahoo is more inclined towards innovations aimed at enhancing user experience.Three days after the release of Q1 earnings (4/18), Yahoo launched two heavyweight mobile applications, Yahoo! Weather (weather application) and a brand-new Yahoo! Mail (mobile client for Yahoo Mail); the former makes checking the weather as enjoyable as looking at postcards, while the latter transforms reading emails on mobile devices into an experience akin to flipping through magazines. Whether something constitutes human-centered application design is subjective, but nearly 6000 five-star reviews in the Apple App Store clearly aren't fake.The standout feature of the Yahoo Weather app is: thorough yet not excessive. The app includes features such as perceived temperature, wind speed, air pressure, positions of the sun and moon, and overhead map views—practical features that are uncommon in other weather apps. Moreover, the unique minimalist aesthetic (high-definition images selected in real-time from Flickr, Yahoo's photo-sharing site, serve as backgrounds) makes it hard to put down, without any trace of information overload. After all, what more could we ask for from a weather app?The new Yahoo! Mail turns your inbox into a magazine. With the full-screen function activated, all borders are removed, leaving only the email itself, and swiping the screen left or right allows you to flip pages just like reading a magazine. This design suits the majority of people who use tablets more for reading emails than writing them. Additionally, this app simplifies the email cleaning process, allowing archiving and deletion via simple gestures. Clearly, all new functions are centered around the mobile experience.On April 22nd, another heavyweight Yahoo mobile app was launched. This new version of the Yahoo! iOS app integrates the Summly news summary function acquired just a month prior, showcasing an unexpectedly decisive move. After activating Visual mode (which can be understood as Summly mode), most news stories are condensed into less than 140 characters, using news images as background summaries, and simply scrolling down takes you to the next story. The experience of browsing news becomes similar to flipping through comic books. Furthermore, personalized Topic (theme) preference settings add significant value to this app.After the release of Q1 earnings, Yahoo carried out a series of measured mobile offensives in response to widespread doubts about its declining advertising sales. Regardless, the importance placed on UI and UX is evident in the new products, showing us a more refined and considerate Yahoo. Perhaps, Yahoo doesn't aim to become the Apple of internet companies but instead prefers Samsung's strategy for resurgence. Finding breakthroughs in user experience, following trends in mobile internet for adaptive innovation, and crafting products with an artistic approach—Mayer's efforts have already made Yahoo's gradually clearer development path visible. Let's be patient about Yahoo's tomorrow.