Gmail 2.0 for iOS – Review

Apart from the design of the first iPhone, one of the reasons for the success is the operating system it runs on. iOS as Apple calls the operating system, has a lot of features that is useful for both end users and developers. When other iOS devices like the iPod Touch and the iPad were introduced, the user base expanded and individual developers and businesses could reach out through the iTunes Store to sell the applications. Google has developed its own applications for iOS and even though Apple blocked a port of Google Talk from the AppStore, the other applications like Google search, Maps, Drive and Gmail were an instant hit. Recently, Google released a completely redesigned Gmail app and named it version 2.0. Let us have a look at the new Gmail app here.

Gmail 2.0 for iOS

The latest Gmail update is not loaded with features, but the user interface is completely redesigned and one can say with a straight face that the company has put a lot of thought into the design. The Gmail app looks a lot like the Google+ app for iOS. The fonts in the app have been replaced and this gives a uniform look and feel to all the Google apps available for iOS. The color scheme used in the application is great and not only is it aesthetically pleasing, it doesn’t get in the way when you are working on something important.

Dig Deeper: Right Inbox – Schedule emails in Gmail.

The previous version of Gmail for iOS did not display the categories and folders that you had created on web mail. Now you have a button on the top and when tapped, you have a drop down list that looks similar to the interface you get when you browse Gmail through your computer’s browser. If you have multiple accounts, you don’t have to go back to select them individually. The accounts are also displayed in the drop down menu and you can switch between them without signing out and signing in again. Although a lot of users have asked for a unified inbox like the one in OS X’s Mail, Google has not added the feature in the new version for Gmail for iOS.

Composing a mail is easy too. From anywhere in the app, you can tap the ‘New Mail’ icon on the top to get started. Once you invoke the function and if you have multiple accounts, the application throws a message that asks you to select the address from which you’d like to send the mail. You can also set the default address under the settings menu. Unlike the iOS Mail app, you can attach an image from your camera roll or album while you compose the mail. You can also send scribble notes while composing and this works just like the web based Gmail interface. There are loads of emoticons and avatars that you can use in the body of the mail. The notes scribbling feature is particularly impressive and gives you the ability to draw quick sketches. As a matter of fact, when we tried to draw on the scribble pad, we found it easier than drawing though the cursor. The scribbled notes are attached as a PNG file.

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The application integrates Apple’s iCal, iOS Calendar and Google’s own calendar in a very effective manner. When an invite is sent through mail and when it lands on your inbox, you can add it to your calendar very easily. Earlier, you had to download the invite and then import it to a calendar. This feature is absolutely great and a welcome feature for most businesses and end users.

Through the new interface, you can perform almost every single action that was once available only on the web version of Gmail. When you select a mail in your inbox, you can tap on the arrow next to it to mark it as spam or as an unread email. With the new version of the app, you can also add labels, mute the conversation and even move in the folders that you had created on the web version.

If you have a lot of emails in your inbox that spans multiple pages, you don’t have to load the pages one after the other, rather, the new version has infinite scroll.

These are some of the features available on Gmail 2.0 for iOS and we liked it. Give it a try; it is a free app anyway and tell me what you thin of it using the comment box below. Remember to subscribe my RSS feeds to receive my updates on your mail.