Tag: gmail

  • Gmail users can now customize swipe actions on iPhone

    Gmail users can now customize swipe actions on iPhone

    Google has just made it official that iPhone users of its ever-growing Gmail email app can now customize a number of swipe actions. The update is clearly meant to enable Gmail users to execute certain actions faster than before, but Google also mentions the addition of the new feature matches the brand new mobile redesign of the app that added many new productivity improvements.

    You’re probably wondering what type of actions you’ll be able to customize in Gmail on iOS, so here is the full list: Archive, Trash, Mark as read/unread, Snooze, and Move to. These actions can now be executed using a single swipe gesture, but you’ll have to configure them first.

    Here is how you can do that: head to Settings / Swipe action, then, choose the swipe options that better fit your usage style. You can choose to swipe left or right on an email to archive it or directly move it to trash, but there are other options available too.

    Besides adding customizable swipe actions, the latest update makes it possible to use the same actions to sort your notifications. Whenever you want to snooze emails, you can now long press on a Gmail iOS notification or use 3D Touch, and then click on “Snooze” directly to pick the date and time when to snooze the email until.
    Keep in mind that while the update has been released on March 28, it will take more than 15 days to arrive on all iPhones out there, so if you don’t see the new feature yet, you’ll have to wait a while.
  • Inbox gets its official shutdown date and Google lies

    Inbox gets its official shutdown date and Google lies

    Google let Inbox users know quite a while ago that it would be shutting down the app in March 2019 and Google has continually promised that users’ favorite Inbox features would be integrated into Gmail before anyone was forced to leave Inbox. Now, Google has put a specific date on the Inbox shutdown despite that promise not having been kept.

    Inbox users have been getting a pop-up notification for a while reminding them that the app is going away and urging users to try out Gmail, but in the past day, that notification has gotten more specific. Now, the notification gives a more accurate timeline with the number of days left before Inbox is shut down and the countdown points to April 1st. Unfortunately, right after that Google straight up lies to Inbox users by claiming that “You can find your favorite Inbox features in the Gmail app.”

    As an avid Inbox user since the app launched, I can say unequivocally that is a lie. Gmail has gotten options to snooze emails, which is probably someone’s favorite Inbox feature, but that’s about it. Gmail still doesn’t have all of Inbox’s bundles (like Trips), it doesn’t highlight actionable items inline (like attachments, places, etc), it doesn’t have an option to save links to Inbox (instead it added Keep and Tasks to Gmail’s sidebar, which isn’t the same, it doesn’t have an option to quickly archive all items in a group (be it a bundle or a group of messages from a specific day), and Gmail also doesn’t have Inbox’s option to pin messages or notes.

    Maybe Google will surprise us and add all of those features in the next two weeks, but given how slowly features from Inbox have been added to Gmail, it seems pretty unlikely. In the meantime, users are being forced to leave Inbox and unless Google surprises us all with a major upgrade to Gmail, it seems poised to have lied about what Inbox users can expect when migrating to Gmail.

  • The Google app hits an impressive milestone in the Play Store

    The Google app hits an impressive milestone in the Play Store

    Remember when the Google Play Store was called the Android Market? Google changed the name on March 6th, 2012. Twenty-six months later, Gmail became the first Android app to reach 1 billion installs. Since then, two other apps in the Play Store have been installed over 5 billion times-that is, until today. Google Maps and YouTube have been joined in the exclusive club by the Google app.

    Video streaming site YouTube was the first Android app to hit 5 billion downloads, and was followed this past weekend by navigation app Google Maps. Now, the Google app itself  has joined the club. Technically, there are four members if you include Google Play Services, but this is a systems app that allows an Android phone to update Google developed apps and apps from the Google Play Store.

    The three apps, YouTube, Google Maps and Google, are not only must-haves for every Android user, they are also pre-installed on every Android phone that comes with Google Play Services out of the box. When an app is pre-loaded onto an Android device, that is included in the total number of installations.

    Google has worked on expanding the features offered by each of the three apps in the 5 billion installs club. Besides offering streaming videos from amateurs, the site now includes trailers from movies and clips taken from television shows. In addition, YouTube now offers its own original programming for paid subscribers. Google Maps has added several new navigation based items, including the ability to report a crash or speed trap, a speed limit reminder, and more. It also has moved into the lifestyle category by showing places of interest to visit in your home town and locations you travel to.

    The Google app, which helps users search for websites, also reports news, sports and weather of interest to the user. A summary of the user’s schedule for the day can be seen thanks to Google Calendar integration, and a list of stock prices can be monitored. All three apps do have iOS counterparts in the Apple App Store.