Gmail has a new look for its mobile app. Google has decided to give its smartphone app a more minimalist interface, opting for a pristine new appearance that may or may not appeal to everyone. Let's take a look at all the details of the change.
New Gmail redesign
Google has announced the official rollout of the redesigned interface for its Gmail mobile app, adapting its appearance to the Material Theme standards.
The first thing you'll notice when Gmail updates on your phone is that the striking red top bar (which indicates which folder of your email you're looking at and where the search magnifying glass is also located) disappears completely.
Instead, there's now a search bar that spans almost the entire width of the app, giving users ample space to enter the term or person they want to search for. The familiar three-line icon that opens the app's side menu is located on the left, as always, while your profile picture is on the right, making it easier to share between accounts —just tap it.
The icon for composing a new email has also changed. It's no longer a red speech bubble with a pencil, but a white circle with Google's four colors. Similarly, the warning messages (when you're notified that the sender is untrustworthy and could steal your personal information) have also changed and are now much more prominent. They've moved away from the grayish box with red text to a bright red message with white text, as you can see in the screenshot above, to the right of the image—the screenshot on the left shows the account switching mentioned earlier.
The "Reply," "Reply All," and "Forward" buttons are now more discreet, taking up less space and indicated by a gray outline. Three new display modes have also been added: default, comfortable, and compact, which adjusts the spacing between lines.
Overall, we can say that the design is indeed attractive, minimalist, and very much in line with the guidelines set by Google with Material Theme, although it is inevitable to think that perhaps Google is making a mistake by betting everything on white instead of offering us a dark mode.
The app update started rolling out today on both Android and iOS devices. This means the new interface could be arriving soon (if it hasn't already) or it could take a few days (you know how these massive global updates go).