![google chat in gmail google chat in gmail](https://i1.wp.com/9to5google.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/10/Gmail-Google-Chat-status-1.png)
It's basically a banner ad for Google Chat and Meet.Įven if you use Google Chat and Google Meet, the new Gmail buttons aren't particularly good. The lack of control is what really makes this app switcher a terrible addition to Gmail. The new sidebar is big, it's annoying, it's taking up screen real-estate to promote unrelated products, and I can't get rid of it. That's going to be a problem in the future when the "classic" design goes away. Historically, you've been able to head to the Gmail settings and turn off Google Chat and Meet individually, but flipping the switch on either one of those services kicks you out of the new Gmail design and into Gmail Classic. You can never make the app bar go away in the new Gmail design. The hamburger button in the top left corner looks like it might collapse the new sidebar, but it collapses the Gmail sections instead, not the app switcher. AdvertisementĬritically, you can't collapse the new sidebar, even if you plan on never using Google Chat and Meet while you're trying to check email. This is a huge waste of space for buttons that are irrelevant if you visit Gmail to-you know- use Gmail. Oh, if you happen to get an incoming Google Chat, you'll see a profile picture pop up in the abyss that is the bottom of the new sidebar. A top-to-bottom vertical bar to display four measly buttons (five if you count the returning hamburger button) and then a desolate Siberian wilderness of whitespace. Then there's a button for Google Meet, Google's Zoom competitor. Then "Chat" and "Spaces," which are both for Google's latest messaging service, Google Chat.
![google chat in gmail google chat in gmail](https://imag.malavida.com/qa/qa-gmail-1892.jpg)
You're on to check your email, and now on the side of the screen, there are four new buttons. But the new "integrated view" and sidebar will probably cause controversy. The new colors are fine, but Gmail is theme-able anyway, so the new default design doesn't really matter much. The normal Gmail sidebar showing all your mail sections is still there, but now there's a whole additional sidebar that is basically an app switcher for other Google apps. Oh yeah-it also adds a big, second sidebar to the left side of the screen. The new desktop site changes up the 2018 design by turning the top and side portions of the web app gray, turning the red highlight to blue, and rounding over some of the corners.
![google chat in gmail google chat in gmail](https://mlquazrxuczl.i.optimole.com/hthoy68.eNnF~2b324/w:1000/h:675/q:82/https://skuggen.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Google-Chat-PWA.jpg)
Gmail's latest redesign seems to have finally started hitting a wide number of accounts over the weekend.