Gmail is getting (another) redesign. Here’s how to find what you need.

Author: Editors Desk Source: The Washington Post

August 16, 2022 at 13:55

Google is rolling out a new design for Gmail. (The Washington Post illustration; iStock; Google)

Google says it wants to make it easier to switch among its apps

Google is rolling out a new design for Gmail. Among the coming changes are a left-hand menu to quickly click into Chat, Spaces and Meet; easier filtering to find emails faster; and many shades of blue.

Google says the move is aimed at making it simpler to access different apps — like the company’s instant messenger or videoconference tool — from your Gmail inbox.

Google users aren’t strangers to sudden design and branding switches. In 2020, the company renamed its collection of apps from Google Suite to Google Workspace, and it’s continuously played with the names and logos of the accompanying video, chat and collaboration apps, perhaps in hopes of turning a collection of disparate products into one hub. Now, Gmail users can hop among apps easier, the company says.

To get Chat and Meet in the left-hand menu, go to Settings in a browser and choose “Apps in Gmail,” then “Customize.” (The Washington Post illustration; Tatum Hunter/The Washington Post) — Caption

“During the pandemic, we’ve seen a further evolution as tens of millions of people around the world started to move between email, messaging, group chat and video calls as a part of managing their daily lives,” Google product manager Neena Kamath said in a recent blog post. “To help people stay connected, we’re bringing together Gmail, Chat, Spaces and Meet in a single, unified view.”