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WhatsApp test shares your Status to Facebook with one click
WhatsApp is testing a feature that will allow users to share their Status posts to Facebook and other services, according to The Verge. WhatsApp Status is basically the app's equivalent to Stories, and the new feature would make it possible for users to directly port their Status over to their Story on Facebook. Status content can also be shared to Instagram, Gmail and Google Photos. The feature is available through WhatsApp's beta program.
Gmail’s ‘dynamic email’ will be available to everyone July 2nd
You'll soon be able to do a lot more in Gmail -- without ever leaving your inbox. Google will make AMP-powered "dynamic emails" for Gmail available to the general public on July 2nd, following a beta release to paying G Suite customers earlier this year. You've undoubtedly encountered AMP, or "accelerated mobile pages" if you've opened a link on your phone; it's a Google-built protocol that can load web pages using it a lot more quickly. With AMP in Gmail, users perform web-based tasks right in their inbox, such as filling out forms, RSVPing to an event, responding to an edit in Google Docs, or browsing images in a carousel. The feature will only be available for Gmail on the web, with mobile due to come at an unspecified date.
Google cloud outage knocks out Gmail, Discord and Snapchat (updated)
No, it's not just you -- many of the internet services you use went down this weekend. Google has reported an outage with its Cloud Platform that made several sites and apps inoperable in some regions on June 2nd (they're still affected as we write this). Most of them are in-house services like Gmail, G Suite and YouTube, but this also affected Discord, Snapchat and other apps that depend on Google's infrastructure. The issues were mostly noticeable in the US and Europe.
Tell Alexa to set a routine for sunrise instead of a specific time
Amazon is rolling out a number of new options for Alexa routines. Starting today, you can set up a routine to trigger actions when your alarm stops. You might prompt Alexa to read your flash briefing a few minutes after your alarm goes off, or perhaps to turn on the coffee machine once you've finally stopped hitting the snooze button.
Former Gmail designer builds Chrome extension to declutter your inbox
Despite Google's attempts to improve Gmail, the web version remains hectic and cluttered. While that might be frustrating to users, it's especially irritating for Michael Leggett, one of Gmail's former lead designers. Finally fed up, Leggett launched Simplify, a free Chrome extension meant to streamline your inbox.
Google Assistant will finally work with business G Suite accounts
Google has been steadily rolling out G Suite updates like AI grammar suggestions in Google Docs, streamlined two-step verification, new Tasks features and shortcuts to make Google Doc and Sheet creation faster. Today, at the Cloud Next '19 event, Google announced its newest batch of G Suite changes.
Gmail continues to define email 15 years on
Today is April 1st, a day for pranks and corny jokes. One of the biggest culprits is Google, which comes up with a hoax every year (remember YouTube SnoopaVision or Google Play for Pets?). But on April 1st, 2004, Google debuted a product that was decidedly not a joke: Gmail. It was a service that revolutionized web mail, so much so that it has become an integral part of our daily lives.
Gmail can schedule messages to send them at a better time
Google is marking Gmail's 15th birthday (yes, April 1st) with some genuinely useful additions rather than pranks. To start, it's introducing an option to schedule sending your messages so that they'll arrive at a better time. If you need to write a company message late at night but would rather not bug a coworker off-hours, you can delay the email until your colleague is back in the office.
Gmail finally offers customizable swipe actions on iOS
It took the better part of a year, but Gmail's customizable swipe actions have finally reached the iOS crowd. Google is updating Gmail for iOS to let you personalize what happens when you swipe right. You can tell it to mark a message as read, move it to a folder or delete it outright, among other options. suffice it to say this could help a lot if you're inundated with email (hello) and would rather not laboriously sort it all.
Google's AMP tech makes Gmail more interactive
Google is finally ready to bring its fast-loading AMP tech to Gmail after more than a year of testing. Now widely available on the web, "dynamic email" (as Google calls it) gives you web-based interactions that would normally require opening your browser. You can fill out forms, reply to Google Docs comments or even browse catalogs, among other things. It also ensures that you get the latest version of content, so you can get the latest product listings or social network recommendations without needing a follow-up message.
IFTTT loses some Gmail triggers on March 31st
Google's push to tighten third-party API access is already going to cost the world Google+, but a change that more of you might notice is coming to IFTTT. The service sent out emails alerting users that their "recipe" scripts involving Gmail triggers and an action that could create a draft will go away as of March 31st. According to Google, the shift is a result of the Project Strobe sweep it announced last October. IFTTT said it worked with Google to keep the integration that will support triggers to Send an email, or to Send Yourself an email, but the API lockdown that's coming would've required too much work to change its services. Otherwise, integrations with Google will still be the same, but anyone relying heavily on the automated scripts may want to double check things before they get a surprise in a few days.
Gmail Smart Compose finally ventures beyond the Pixel 3
Gmail's Smart Compose has been widely available on the desktop for a while, but it's been quite limited in the mobile world. Unless you happen to have a Pixel 3, you've been out of luck if you've wanted Gmail to help write your messages. Thankfully, Google is casting its net much wider. Android Police has discovered that Smart Compose is rolling out to other devices, including third-party phones like the Galaxy S9+ and OnePlus 6T. Engadget can attest to the expanding hardware support, as you can see on the Essential Phone above.
Google is sharing a tool to keep your data anonymous from AI
Today, Google released TensorFlow Privacy, an open-source tool that will help keep your data anonymous, even as AI learns from it. The now-public code is based on differential privacy. That's what allows Gmail's Smart Reply to guess what you're going to say by collecting data from other people's emails, and at the same time, keeps Smart Reply from revealing any juicy secrets people have typed before.
Gmail's cleaner, brighter mobile app rolls out to everyone this week
If you notice that Gmail suddenly looks different on your phone, you're not the only one. Google has confirmed to Engadget that its email client's Material Design makeover is available to all Android users now, and should reach all iOS users by the end of the week. As we mentioned back in January, this is mostly about dragging Gmail's aesthetic into the modern era. The familiar red title bar is gone in favor of a full-length search bar with a more accessible account switcher, while the overall look is brighter and more spacious. You'll see Google's latest in-house font everywhere, for that matter.
Gmail's expanded right-click menu makes it easier to manage email
You might not have known that you could right-click on emails in Gmail to bring up a short list of common actions that you might want to perform. Now is about as good a time as any to learn about the feature, though, because Google announced today that it will be expanding the options found in the context menu so you can quickly jump to any action that you may need.
Google is killing its Notifications Widget
As the death knell sounds for Google+, so too comes the end for the Google's Notification Widget. Introduced in 2011 alongside Google+, the bell icon in the top-right corner of every Google page was designed to alert users to activity on the social network, eventually expanding to include Google Photos and Hangout Chat. Now, though, a warning message indicates that the service will end on March 7th. After this date, the navigation bar will only feature your profile avatar and other settings, including the app launcher. Not to worry if you still rely on the feature for Photos, Hangout Chat or Google+ enterprise, though, as you can still enable alerts in the settings section of each individual app.
Gmail may add Inbox-style reminders and pins
Google has assuaged Inbox fans by incorporating some of the defunct app's features into Gmail, but some of the best additions might still be on the horizon. Reddit user moodio shared an apparent leak showing a test version of Gmail for Android with reminders, pinned messages and category bundles (which help you deal with multiple messages at once). You might even see a quick "mark all as read" button so that you don't have to methodically select every message.
Google cleans up Gmail app with an all-white redesign
Google first unveiled its Material Design language back in 2014 (now called Material Theme), and last year saw an update to those design rules that removed the bold colors in favor of an almost entirely white look. A number of Google's most prominent apps and services have been redesigned over the last year, including Tasks, Photos, Calendar and Gmail -- the latter only on the web, though. That changes today: a redesigned Gmail for mobile starts rolling out today and will be available to all Android and iOS users in the coming weeks.
Mozilla plans UI refresh and better Gmail support for Thunderbird
Mozilla announced today that its Thunderbird desktop email client will be getting some much needed love in 2019, with the team preparing to tackle user interface issues, improve user experience and promote better integration with providers like Gmail. "Beyond that, we will be looking into leveraging new, faster technologies in rewriting parts of Thunderbird as well as working toward a multi-process Thunderbird," Thunderbird Community Manager Ryan Sipes wrote in a blog post.
Google pulls gender pronouns from Gmail Smart Compose to reduce bias
Gmail's Smart Compose can save you valuable time when you're firing off a quick message, but don't expect it to refer to people as "him" or "her" -- Google is playing it safe on that front. Product leaders have revealed to Reuters that Google removed gender pronouns from Smart Compose's phrase suggestions after realizing that the AI-guided feature could be biased. When a scientist talked about meeting an investor in January, for example, Gmail offered the follow-up "do you want to meet him" -- not considering the possibility that the investor could be a woman.
