In of its biggest design overhaul ever, Google has given Gmail the material design treatment, making it looking leaner and more mobile-friendly on web. It’s quite obvious that the Gmail team has focused on making the product simpler, but it also caters to a host of features that make it business-friendly as well.
This way, Google can compete with Microsoft Outlook, and entice companies into investing in their mailing client. Gmail has usually been a safe product for Google, but these changes suggest a change in strategy. Here’s a look at the some of the salient features making its way to Gmail users across the globe this week.
New Look Gmail - How to Get It
- Head over to Gmail
- Select Settings on top right of the screen
- Click on Try the new Gmail option (as seen below)
Refreshing New Look Design
Ever since the introduction of Material Design to Android and other Google products, Gmail is probably the last of the bunch to adopt it.
The interface under this design language looks cleaner, with sleek fonts used across the platform, and even the design typeface borrows some curves in the process.
The icons look much smaller, the interface, especially the ‘Reply’ page, has been cleaned up, devoid of the boxy elements. Gmail has definitely focused on adding more white space. All this is reminiscent to what we saw with the Inbox app in 2017.
Easy to Access Calendar, Tasks and Keep Widgets and More
What are the little icons you see on the right side of the image below? Well, those are the Calendar and Keep widgets that are available from Gmail itself now. This is something that many Gmail users have been asking for a while, so it’s good to see them finally bringing it to the inbox.
Easily access other apps you use often, like Google Calendar, Tasks (now available on Android and iOS) and Keep.Gmail Blog
Gmail is also letting users add a host of widgets, something that business users would be able to download for free. This is ideal for small businesses, who can rely on Gmail and its affordable services.
In addition to that, you can also snooze mails now, delete a mail without selecting it, and even view attachment previews from the main page of Gmail itself.
Send Confidential Mails
How many times have you dithered from sending critical information like bank account number or password to someone via Gmail? That’s probably going to be sorted now, with a unique feature on Gmail called Confidential Mode.
We’ve heard a lot about it over the past few weeks, but what you see below is the first official roll-out of the feature. It hasn’t reached us yet, but should be available in the coming weeks.
Confidential Mode essentially lets users delete a mail after a few hours, days or months which is all dependent on its level of secrecy.
New confidential mode allows you to remove the option to forward, copy, download or print messages — useful for when you have to send sensitive information via email like a tax return or your social security number.Gmail Blog
This is probably the first time that we’re seeing mail with an option to expire, something that’s been highly used for social media platforms like Snapchat, and even Instagram.
Warns You About Hazardous Mails
The new-look Gmail also increases its strength to warn you about dangerous mails that can harm your mobile/system.
You might notice new warnings in Gmail that alert you when potentially risky email comes through.Gmail Blog
The changes are significant and more aligned towards making Gmail on web more identical to its mobile version. Users have given mixed feedback till now, but expect Google to gradually tweak the features, implementation depending on what’s working for all.
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