Gmail’s new look will grace your inbox any day now
In February this year, Google announced anew integrated view for Gmail on the webwith deeper Meet, Spaces, and Chat integration. Back then, you had to opt-in to try the layout, i.e., if interested, you had to manually enable the option to try out the new Gmail look. That’s changing now, as Google is rolling out the new experience with a coat of Material You on top for a small section of users on an opt-out basis, meaning it will automatically enable the new UI for them. The layout is also being tweaked so as not to thrust Chat and Meet on users.
With this new design, the big G wants to turn Gmail into a one-stop productivity web app. The integrated view ensures you won’t have to switch tabs to continue your ongoing conversations or join a video call. And if you only care about checking your emails, there’s an option in quick settings to disable the Chat and Meet apps and use a Gmail-only view. In the now-old design, the integration of these services always felt a bit shoehorned. The new layout fixes that by giving Chat, Spaces, and Meet the space they deserve. What’s new in today’s announcement is the coat of Material You on the new layout, giving the UI a fresher look, with a new blue background and a more boxy compose button being the most obvious changes.
If you onlyuse Gmail, Chat and Meet won’t be shoved upon you as a part of the new layout. Google notes in itsannouncementthat you will get a Gmail-only view with the updated look—the Chat, Spaces, and Meet integration is automatically disabled in such cases. This was not the case previously, and Google is likely making this change following the criticism it received.
If you are not a fan of the updated layout, you can revert to the older view from quick settings. You can access this by clicking on theSettingsbutton in the upper-right corner of Gmail on the web and looking for theGo back to the original Gmail viewshortcut. This option won’t stick around for long, though, as Google ultimately wants everyone to switch to the new design. Similarly, you can opt to try out the new experience from there as well.
Google usually takes 15 days to roll out new features to Workspace and personal Gmail accounts. This time around, it notes the rollout can take “potentially longer than 15 days for visibility.”
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