Google redesigns Gmail for iOS and updates its Calendar!

 

Google has updated its Gmail and Calendar applications for iOS. These two applications are vital parts of Google’s cloud-based services. The updated Gmail app for iPhone and iPad introduces a redesigned user interface alongside a few features from Gmail on the web that it says were highly requested. The new design is notably similar to the Gmail app available on Android devices.

 

Among the new features, the updated Gmail app now brings over the “Undo Send” feature from Gmail on the web, which delays sending emails for a set number of seconds to allow users the option to “undo sending” after tapping send. The Undo Send feature on the web can be set to a 5, 10, 20 or 30 second delay, but it appears to be using a set 5 seconds for the mobile app.

Also new for the refreshed app is  the improved search functionality which includes instant results and spelling suggestions, and Google notes the ability to easily Swipe to archive or delete depending on your preference (which is now a single action rather than a swipe revealing a button). The design of the updated app makes the iPhone and iPad versions fit in with Google’s design for Gmail on Android devices, and overall feels much faster than the previous version.

Google Calendar: New shiny Features

The Calendar app on iOS has some shiny, new features:

• Month view and week in landscape view, so you have even more ways to see your schedule at a glance.
• Spotlight Search support, so you can search for events, Reminders and Goals in Apple’s Spotlight Search and find what you’re looking for faster.
• Alternate calendars. If you often look up dates in a non-Gregorian calendar — like Lunar, Islamic, or Hindu — you can now add that calendar to easily see those dates alongside your current calendar.

Gmail Becomes Safer, Will Now Warn You About Unsecured Emails

Starting today, any messages that Gmail users send or receive from email providers that don’t support TLS encryption will be flagged with a tiny unlocked padlock icon. Clicking the padlock brings up a dialog box warning the user that if their message contains “confidential information” they may want to advise their contact to use a different email provider.

Here’s how it looks:

In addition to this, Gmail will flag up email contacts whose identity can’t be verified. Any emails from unauthenticated sources will have their profile photo replaced with a question mark, and although Google notes that not all emails flagged in this way will be dangerous, it’s a good reminder to be extra careful.

If you receive a message that claims to be from your bank, for example, but has an unauthenticated sender, it’s almost certainly malicious, and you should delete it immediately before it steals your money or your identity.

Gmail Security

Note that Gmail has always supported encryption in transit using TLS, and will automatically encrypt your incoming and outgoing emails if it can, and there are tons of other security measures running behind the scenes to keep your email safe.

Happy Safer Internet Day!

Google brings Gmail, Google Drive, and Google+ together into a 15GB shared pool of cloud storage

In its continuing quest to streamline its online services, Google brought three of its most popular goodies under the same roof. In its official Gmail blog, the search giant announced that, beginning over the next couple of weeks, Gmail, Google Drive, and Google+ will merge into the same 15GB pool of shared cloud storage.

The move by Google, allows users to allocate their available storage any way they like between the three services. An updated Google Drive storage page will be updated to show the usage of the storage space.

Google has done away with the old Gmail storage upgrade plans. New ones will apply for all three services starting at $4.99 a month for additional 100GB.