![Gmail app opening on a smartphone](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/a4dogeXhXaShZvwa3i4rnG-1280-80.jpg)
If you go down to your Gmail today, you're in for a big surprise: the new Gmail interface is no longer opt-in, so it's rolling out to everybody. It may not have arrived on your personal Gmail just yet, but it's incoming and you can expect it to arrive within days or weeks.
The new interface brings in more of Google's Material You design language, and it puts Google Meet, Google Chat and Google Spaces in a little sidebar to the left of the display. You can customise that if you like, and you can also go into Quick Settings to switch back to the old interface if you don't like the new one.
The new design is coming to Google Workspace and personal Gmail, but it's really there because of Workspace: Google is focused on Workspace as a direct rival to Microsoft Office, and the new interface is designed to streamline tasks such as meetings and chats by enabling you to focus on one thing at a time rather than have everything on screen at once.
It's all about Office
Google Workspace has evolved into quite the Office competitor in recent years, and the new UI is part of that ongoing improvement. Both Workspace and Office provide business email and shared calendars, online storage and collaboration, and apps for creating and editing documents, spreadsheets and presentations. They also include extensive chat and messaging features. But now Google is investing heavily in adding new features to make its option much more powerful and flexible. I've already noticed the difference in the apps: I've been a Google Docs user since day one but I've always found it rather simplistic compared to other options, but in the last wee while it's become noticeably smarter and more useful.
The new Gmail UI is part of a drive to connect every bit of Workspace to every other bit, so for example you'll be able to quickly share your Docs document in your Meet call or start a Meet video to discuss the Doc you're working on. That's useful for users, of course, but it has the added benefit for Google of reducing the likelihood of people turning to rival conferencing platforms such as Zoom. And it's great news for Chromebook users too, because of course Google apps are at the core of the Chromebook experience.
Sign up to the T3 newsletter for smarter living straight to your inbox
Get all the latest news, reviews, deals and buying guides on gorgeous tech, home and active products from the T3 experts
Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series; her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, was shortlisted for the British Book Awards. When she’s not scribbling, Carrie is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind (unquietmindmusic).
-
Audio-Technica upgrades its cartilage conduction headphones with a big audio boost
The Audio-Technica ATH-CC500BT2 'phones also offer 20 hours of battery life
By Rik Henderson Published
-
Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus review: the unsung hero?
Has Samsung added enough to make the Galaxy S25 Plus appeal?
By Chris Hall Published
-
Here's when Android 16 will be officially detailed – Google I/O 25 date revealed
We're soon going to know a lot more about Google's plans as I/O 2025 is announced
By Chris Hall Published
-
Google Pixel 9a price leak confirms what we all feared
Google's affordable Pixel 9a might not be as affordable as we hoped
By Chris Hall Published
-
Google Pixel 9a reportedly coming with a stack of freebies
Google’s new Pixel 9a could come with a few somethings to sweeten the deal
By Chris Hall Published
-
Google Pixel 9a could be imminent as documents found online
This would make the device's launch two months early
By Britta O'Boyle Published
-
Google TV gets a new AI-powered feature update, but it's not for everyone
Your Google TV box or Chromecast might have received a new feature update – here's what it does
By Britta O'Boyle Published
-
Samsung's Vision Pro rival to get a big boost from a clever Google acquisition
Google is buying HTC's XR division to work on Android XR – the driving force behind Project Moohan
By John McCann Published
-
Yes, there really is a Google Pixel 11 rumour already
Details about Google's next-next-generation handset have surfaced online
By Chris Hall Published
-
Google Chrome and Android getting a ground-breaking free audio upgrade
Google's rival to Dolby Atmos and Apple Spatial Audio is coming to mobile platforms too
By Britta O'Boyle Published