Gmail’s new look is being rolled out by Google from February. The new look pulls Meet, Chat, and Spaces closer and applies more of its Material You styling effects. Google in February announced, “We’re introducing a new, integrated view for Gmail, making it easy to move between critical applications like Gmail, Chat, and Meet in one unified location.”
The timeline Google have to introduce this new experience
“Beginning February 11, 2022:
- Users can opt-in to test the new experience, allowing them to try it out and become more accustomed to it.
- We will share an update on the Google Workspace Updates Blog, along with Help Center content, once rollout begins.
By April 2022:
- Users who have not opted-in will begin seeing the new experience by default.
By the end of Q2 2022:
- This will become the standard experience for Gmail.
- Around the same time, users will also begin seeing the new streamlined navigation experience on Chat web (mail.google.com/chat).
- Important Note: This also means users will not have the option to configure Chat to display on the right side of Gmail.”
Though the changes are not very big, they contribute in bringing a new flavor into the end user experience. By making the workspace different it shows a focus towards becoming a potential competitor for Office.
Regarding the Gmail’s new look changes, The Verge said, “If you can’t tell what’s different here, the updated UI collects buttons for Mail, Meet, Spaces, and Chat into one list at the top of the left rail instead of showing several conversations from each one in a list. They’re still easily accessible without having everything on screen at once, and you can quickly jump into a conversation in any one section as a list will pop out when you mouse over its icon.”
Gmail’s new look is surely an interesting thing for its users. But in the long run its pros and cons are yet to be worked out.
