Category: Gmail

Gmail for iOS has a new update rolling out in the App Store, bringing with it two key new features in tow.  The new build, version 5.0.180422 for those keeping score at home, brings the ability to snooze emails along with sending money to contacts via Google Pay.

The ability to snooze emails is a new feature to Gmail in general, having arrived in the new user experience for the mail service online as well as in the Android app.  It allows you to select a day and time when you want to respond to an email.

After being leaked a few weeks back, the new looking Gmail UI is now rolling out to everyone.  It will take a few weeks to get to everyone out there but when you do get it, there will be the option under Settings to try the new Gmail out and use it on the web and on the mobile apps.

The update brings a refresh to a product that has needed it for a long while.  Gmail’s UI fundamentally hasn’t changed in years and this update brings a more Material Design look to it as well as several advanced features like Smart Replies and the ability to snooze emails to handle them later.

Gmail Go, a lighter weight version of the Gmail app, is the latest addition to the Android Go initiative from Google.  The app is available in Google Play Store for devices with low memory, the hallmark of the Go program.  If you aren’t familiar with the Go program, it is an initiative set out by Google back at Google I/O last year to bring apps & services to devices with low RAM.  These apps are mostly aimed at emerging markets or those with very low cost devices with 1GB or 2GB of RAM.

Gmail Go essentially is Gmail but without some of the more powerful management, editing and filtering options.  Still, it comes with Smart Replies and inbox label filtering which is likely going to meet 99% of users needs.

Google has announced a new AMP for Email developers preview for companies to create more interactive emails.  The feature, which is part of the Gmail developer program, will be generally available and supported in the email service later this year.

With AMP for Email, you’ll be able to quickly take actions like submit an RSVP to an event, schedule an appointment, or fill out a questionnaire right from the email message. Many people rely on email for information about flights, events, news, purchases and beyond—more than 270 billion emails are sent each day! AMP for Email will also make it possible for information to easily kept up-to-date, so emails never get stale and the content is accurate when a user looks at it.

Once AMP for Email fully rolls out, it will be much more like a website in your email than a static message.

Google is in the process of rolling out a new Gmail attachment compliance policy to all G Suite customers.  The new settings, which are optional, allow for G Suite administrators to configure scanning of the content of an attachment to prevent corporate data loss.

Previously, G Suite admins could configure attachment scanning but it would only scan the header of the attachment of configured file types (like .docx, .pdf, etc).  The problem is that users could change the file extension to bypass the scanning and thus get the corporate data out of the corporate network.

Google is rolling out an update to Gmail and Inbox for both Android and the web that will create links for physical addresses, email addresses and phone numbers that are found in your email messages.  The update is on the fast track which means it should roll out to all users over the course of the next few days.

How it works is pretty straightforward and should save time for users.  If there is a physical address in an email message, the link will take you to Google Maps.  If there is an email address found, the link will open up your default email client and set you up to compose a new email to that address.  Finally, when you are on your Android phone, if there is phone number found, clicking the link will open up your default phone app to place a call to the number.