Earlier last month, Google shared its vision for how Gmail can become an “all-in-one hub” for professional users of its popular email client. It integrates multiple apps into Gmail, giving users access to the company’s video calling ‘Meet‘ and document editing tools under ‘Rooms’ under one roof.
This massive redesign is now rolling out to G Suite users on Android and the web. If you’re an iOS user though, you will have to wait to get the redesign. The idea behind this integration to bring all of the core functionality that one might need during ‘work from home’ in one app. You don’t need to leave Gmail to do a Meet video call, message your colleagues, or share files or see tasks that you have been assigned. They are now all available within Gmail itself.
How does this affect Gmail’s UI and your workflow? Well, as you can see in the image above, Google has cluttered the Gmail app with a bottom navigation bar. It gives you access to the your e-mails, private chats, files and tasks under Rooms, and Meet. The ‘Meet’ tab is already rolling out to everyone – even if you are a G Suite user or not.
And it’s not just the Gmail app that bags the redesign, as you can see above. Even the Gmail website will have a revamped sidebar with all of the aforementioned features. It’s certainly a big change that will affect your workflow going forward. You will most likely see yourself stuck within Gmail, messaging your office friends, completing tasks and editing documents, while attending the third Meet call of the day.
Yes, if you didn’t already notice, Google is letting you edit shared documents within the e-mail client as well. You don’t need to hop to Docs or Excel to complete the same. The company has recently also rolled out a slew of major security changes to protect users against any phishing attacks or zoom bombers in video calls while working at home.
