After leaking earlier today, Google has now confirmed that Gmail is getting a big upgrade that includes Google Chat and Meet. Dubbed “a better home for work,” Google’s focus with this move was to integrate a bunch of their services together for G Suite users to keep everything easily accessible within a single place.
The new version of Gmail really is an integrated workspace where you you’ll even find files and tasks along with those services I mentioned above, like your email, chats, and meetings. But most importantly, Google has confirmed that on Android and iOS, you’ll soon find Chat built into the app, just like Meet is supposed to be. Of course, the web is getting all of this with added functionality.
The new Gmail app on your phone will look like the image at the top of this post, with a bottom bar that features shortcuts for Mail, Chat, Rooms, and Meet. Rooms, for those confused, is a Chat feature that lets multiple people both within and outside of an organization join a topic or project, and share files and tasks and messages specific to it.
That’s not all we are getting, though. Google built-in co-editing of documents into Gmail (likely just on the web for now), they are incorporating Chat messages into Gmail’s search, letting you pin important rooms, set your availability to “Do Not Disturb” and/or have an “Out of office,” and more.
Google says that this new Gmail will expand to G Suite customers “over the following weeks” and you can sign-up here to try and get in.
How will this all affect regular Gmail users? We’re doing our best to find out.
// Google Cloud
I wonder how long it’ll take for this new version to get dark theme!
Again, too much WHITE!
What’s wrong with White?? It’s heritage not hate!
Switched over to 365 and I couldn’t be happier. Now with the Pixel 5 debacle, they’re strongly making me consider switching to Apple. What the H Google? Get your s%!t together!
From Google: G Suite users, you guys keep complaining we release features to you late. Now, here we are, we are giving you something first before gmail users — A bloated Gmail UI!
I’m all for integration like this. Now if they can bake in Google Messages to show up in Gmail to and have it all be one happy unified family, damn, that’d be cool.
Apk
Soooo…Gmail is becoming Slack? But with, like, Gmail wired in.
Wasn’t Google already well on their way to this with Hangouts’ integration in Gmail? Google really has an odd, inefficient way of doing things.
This is for G-Suite… not regular Gmail (yet).
Google Chat in Gmail… everything old is new again.
Do we get a Delete All option?…………No.
i just wanna read emails….
I was hoping someone would mention this. Gchat was great back in the day.
Now we can start speculating when they will drop it for something else.
So only G-Suite customers. Cool. I rather it be kept that way.
So how long now before Gmail gets shut down for a new messaging platform?
this can’t be real. Google is seriously making another Chat app? this is so sad man. they do NOT understand the concept of continuity – especially as it applies to UX – whatsoever.
Can I please create filters now? It’s pretty much all I want.
Does this mean anything for those of us that don’t give a shit about chat and meet?
Is this going to bloat Gmail? Is it going to change how I’m using it now?
Hopefully there’s a simple on/off for using the features.
I really hope that this comes with an announcement “and for non-gsuite users, we migrated your 1:1 hangouts to “Chats” and your group hangouts to “Rooms”, you can continue using chat as normal though the new interface.”
Definitely see how this would be beneficial for G-Suite users but for the average person who uses Gmail for personal use or businesses that require Microsoft Office, most of the changes are useless and perhaps change the ascetic of Gmail to be perceived more business oriented. It would be better if Google allowed us to choose which service to add to Gmail, ie Meet or Duo, Chat or Messages.
Does this count as yet another Google messaging platform?
Hopefully this will come to regular users soon.