Gmail

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Google has been rapidly iterating on Meet, given the demand for enterprise video conferencing. The company also made Google Meet free for personal Gmail accounts, and is now extending the availability of longer calls to June 2021. 

Have difficulty copying and pasting email addresses when using Gmail on your Android device? Well, that looks like it will be a thing of the past as a recent change now makes it even easier to grab an address from the various fields when composing a new email.

Last week, we spotted how the Google Chat website was getting some tweaks and Hangouts-style chat windows. This redesign of Google Chat is now rolled out for free accounts and is interestingly directly part of Gmail.

The search bar in Gmail is already a powerful tool, especially when using the advanced filters, and will now show associated email aliases in results.

It appears as though Google is testing some tweaked icons within Gmail on desktop to more closely mimic the icons already seen on the Android and iOS apps.

Google suffered a massive hour-long outage yesterday morning. This afternoon, Gmail is seeing some widespread “Address not found” issues that prevent certain emails from being delivered.

Google is rolling out new features across Docs and other Workspace apps to increase interoperability with Word and the Microsoft Office suite. It comes as some teams might choose to use both sets of tools, while others still work with partners that don’t use cloud offerings.

With the launch of iOS 14 in September, Google’s key apps were updated to support the latest platform features. After adding default email app support, Gmail now has an iOS home screen widget. Google is also highlighting how Chrome on iPad supports opening multiple windows.

Earlier this year, Google announced that it would default to auto-deleting location and search data. Building on that, the company is introducing two settings to control “whether your data in Gmail, Meet and Chat can be used to offer ‘smart’ features in these and other Google products.”

Over the past few weeks, Google has been replacing the logos and icons of some of its most beloved services, and the public reaction has been… mixed. Some people don’t care, while others absolutely hate the new icons. If you fall into the latter group, here’s how to replace Google’s new icons for Gmail, Calendar, and other apps with the older, arguably better versions on Android, iPhone, and Chrome.

As of the start of this month, Workspace customers can get access to an integrated Gmail experience that includes Chat and Rooms. Google is now boosting the Gmail experience by letting Chat users set an “away” or “Do not disturb” status.

Google last year brought AMP to Gmail to make messages more actionable and interactive. Drive will now send dynamic emails to let file owners manage requests directly inside Gmail.

As part of Google Workspace, the company is rolling out new branding for its productivity apps. Gmail — as teased last month — will be getting a new icon, with Calendar, Drive, Docs, and Meet also following over the coming weeks.

A big update to Gmail that brought Chat, Meet, and Rooms to one central hub was announced in July. That’s now rolling out to enterprise G Suite customers, while all personal accounts already have a dedicated Meet tab. Following those announcements, the company is readying a facelift for Gmail, and it starts with a new icon, if a teaser Google sent us is to be believed.