Google's on a roll, delivering updates to a few of its first party apps and updated Android versions to its current Nexus fleet. Now, they're continuing this barrage with a massive update to Gmail 4.7, which brings quite a few desperately needed features.

First and foremost, this update brings full file attachment support. No longer are you forced to use workaround such as sending from a file manager in order to attach a file of any format. Furthermore, you can now download compressed archives such as ZIP and TAR files, again without any workaround or third party app. While most casual users primarily use the attachment feature to send pictures and video, this is a legitimately useful feature for any power user---and one that most of us have been craving for years.

Next up, the application now supports the new system-wide printing functionality that we detailed in our Android 4.4 KitKat overview. And since it works with Google Cloud Print, you can print to any printer that you have connected to Google Cloud Print anywhere in the world.

Gmail 4.7 also brings a nifty vacation responder, similar to what has been present in third-party email clients such as Outlook for quite some time. The option is found in your settings menu, underneath your signature. Once inside, you can specify start and end dates, as well as the subject and message of the auto response. You can also configure Gmail to only send the auto response to those in your contact list.

Finally, the application offers improved performance on low memory devices. This falls in line with Project Svelte, which as we've mentioned in the past, allows Android to run well on lower memory devices.

To get started, make your way over to the Google Play Store listing. As with most updates, this comes in the form of a staged rollout. In other words, your device may or may not be updated automatically for quite some time. But for those who want to get in on the action, we've gone ahead and mirrored the APK over on DevHost.

Are you a fan of these new changes? I've been waiting for native ZIP downloading for years, and I've been waiting for first party printing through Gmail for almost as long. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

[Source: Google Play | Via Gmail Google+]