Google is updating its Gmail app for Android, offering a number of new features and bug fixes.
The most important change is probably the unified inbox for those with multiple Gmail accounts. This will allow those with more than one account to receive their emails in one inbox rather than having to switch between multiple inboxes.
"Starting today you'll be able to view all your mail at once, regardless of which account it's from, using the new 'All Inboxes' option. This way you can read and respond to all your messages without having to hop between accounts," said Google in a blog post.
Considering how big of a feature this is for many users, it's surprising that it has taken Google this long to add it to the app. Now that the Gmail app supports email addresses from Microsoft and Yahoo, it's even more important that users can easily interact with them at the same time if necessary.
Another new feature in the app is threaded conversations from Yahoo and Outlook accounts, meaning that users can now stack their messages into individual conversations no matter which email provider they're using.
Those that were holding out on using the Gmail app until now might be convinced by the new features, especially given the fact Google replaced the standard Android email app with the Gmail app in Android 5.0 Lollipop.
Google also upgraded the search feature of the app, displaying better and more relevant auto-complete results.
"Search is the cornerstone of Google, and of Gmail. The new Gmail app for Android has better auto-complete, so you can find what you need even faster," continued the company.
It's nice to see that Google is offering improved features and updates to the Gmail app, especially considering the fact that the company has been experimenting with different email layouts and concepts of how email should be. The company released an app called Inbox late last year, treating email more like a to-do list than other apps. Users of Inbox are able to mark emails as "done," and even snooze them to be notified of the emails at another time.
While Google did release a new email app, it specifically mentioned that the app would not be replacing the Gmail app, instead offering users more options. Only time will tell if Inbox ever does end up replacing other email offerings from Google.
The update to Gmail is update 5.1, and it requires Android 4.0 and above.
