Arms-on: Gmail’s new sidebar seems like a giant banner advert for Google Chat

Screenshot of email interface.

Enlarge / The brand new Gmail design. You possibly can see a chat popup within the backside left. (credit score: Ron Amadeo)

Gmail’s newest redesign appears to have lastly began hitting a large variety of accounts over the weekend. The brand new desktop website adjustments up the 2018 design by turning the highest and aspect parts of the net app grey, turning the purple spotlight to blue, and rounding over a number of the corners. Oh yeah—it additionally provides a giant, second sidebar to the left aspect of the display screen. The traditional Gmail sidebar exhibiting all of your mail sections continues to be there, however now there’s an entire further sidebar that’s mainly an app switcher for different Google apps. It is bizarre.

The brand new colours are advantageous, however Gmail is theme-able anyway, so the brand new default design does not actually matter a lot. However the brand new “built-in view” and sidebar will in all probability trigger controversy. You are on Gmail.com to verify your electronic mail, and now on the aspect of the display screen, there are 4 new buttons. There’s “Mail,” which is simply Gmail. Then “Chat” and “Areas,” that are each for Google’s newest messaging service, Google Chat. Then there is a button for Google Meet, Google’s Zoom competitor.

That is just about it. A top-to-bottom vertical bar to show 4 measly buttons (5 in the event you rely the returning hamburger button) after which a desolate Siberian wilderness of whitespace. Oh, in the event you occur to get an incoming Google Chat, you will see a profile image pop-up within the abyss that’s the backside of the brand new sidebar. This can be a enormous waste of area for buttons which might be irrelevant in the event you go to Gmail to—you recognize—use Gmail.

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