The Outlook-ification of Gmail Continues

When Google killed Inbox three years ago, users were forced to move to the Outlook-like Gmail interface. Now, Gmail is getting even worse with a new update that inexplicably makes it look even more like Microsoft Outlook.

“We’re introducing a new, integrated view for Gmail, making it easy to move between critical applications like Gmail, Chat and Meet in one unified location,” a Google Workspace Updates blog post explains.

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday — and get free copies of Paul Thurrott's Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (normally $9.99) as a special welcome gift!

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The new UI is being rolled out to customers over time. Starting February 8, Workspace customers can opt-in to the new experience via a fly-out notification advertisement that will feel quite natural to those of us on Windows; users will be able to return to the classic Gmail interface. By April 2022, users who didn’t opt-in to the new UI will be pushed to it automatically; they will also be able to return to Gmail classic, however. But by the end of 2022, the new UI will be the default, with no way to revert.

Presumably, this change is coming to non-paying Gmail customers as well, though Google does not that it is not available to Google Workspace Essentials customers. Hm.

Tagged with

Share post

Please check our Community Guidelines before commenting

Conversation 21 comments

  • kdjones74

    Premium Member
    01 February, 2022 - 10:00 am

    <p>I use Outlook enough at work, so I use Gmail + Simplify for my personal email.</p>

  • djross95

    Premium Member
    01 February, 2022 - 10:04 am

    <p>Inbox was truly a breath of fresh air, and I was loving it big-time. Then Google did what Google always does–unceremoniously killed it. This Gmail monstrosity in no way compares. If I want an Outlook-type interface, I’ll use Outlook! </p>

    • Stokkolm

      01 February, 2022 - 5:30 pm

      <p>There is nothing scarier in this world than using Outlook with a Google backend. Yikes!</p>

  • anoldamigauser

    Premium Member
    01 February, 2022 - 10:22 am

    <p>I volunteer with a local non-profit that uses Google Workspace, and hence, I have to use Gmail for that. I know there are those who love it; but, really, what the hell are they thinking ;-?</p><p><br></p><p>It is the without question the worst email program I have used. Some of this may be muscle memory, but nothing about how it works makes sense, from the oddly small compose window, to sorting threads with the newest message at the bottom.</p><p><br></p><p>All the other Workspace apps are fine…a bit different but certainly usable and capable. Workspace is actually a little easier to grasp, for the more normal users of this organization, than Microsoft 365 would be; but, the frustration most of them feel with Gmail (it is not just me), has them looking at Microsoft 365.</p>

  • covarr

    01 February, 2022 - 10:34 am

    <p>If the redesign is also more performant I can live with it. Gmail is more sluggish than email has any right to be on lower-midrange PCs.</p><p><br></p><p>But I guess that’s just how the internet is these days, and I’m sure the redesign will be worse in that regard, not better.</p>

  • yoshi

    Premium Member
    01 February, 2022 - 10:36 am

    <p>Eh, I kind of like the fresh coat of paint. But I would much rather have Inbox back. </p>

  • bluvg

    01 February, 2022 - 12:03 pm

    <p>I know Gmail is extremely popular, but I’ve always found the interface rather dated-looking for some reason. And that’s not a comment about the mentioned Outlook similarities (I don’t find Outlook/Hotmail dated-looking).</p>

  • Donte

    01 February, 2022 - 12:15 pm

    <p>Totally a user preference deal. I hated the gmail interface. I like folders vs tags. I also do not like when you reply it puts the reply at the bottom of the page, which is horrible when replying to a long email thread.</p><p><br></p><p>While this looks closer to the Outlook webmail, the Outlook webmail IMHO is still way better.</p>

    • fishnet37222

      Premium Member
      02 February, 2022 - 12:58 pm

      <p>You can consider GMail’s labels to be like accessing a message through multiple folders. Sort of like having a file in one folder and making links to that file in other folders.</p>

  • ebraiter

    01 February, 2022 - 2:53 pm

    <p>Google copying another company and will claim it’s their own design and then probably scrap it within a year.</p>

  • scovious

    01 February, 2022 - 4:59 pm

    <p>I don’t want Google scrubbing, analyzing, reading and cataloging all my private correspondence and interests through the scraping of my email, so I don’t use Gmail. It’s interesting to know there is more bad qualities about Gmail than that.</p>

  • ivarh

    Premium Member
    01 February, 2022 - 9:13 pm

    <p>Back when inbox was a thing, I had my email parked in a paid g.suite account using my domain. When they axed inbox, I axed Google and moved to fastmail.com. Since then, I moved my email to a helm box at home. After having google kill the two services I used them for, I now have dropped google for anything but their search engine. My android phone sync’s photos to my Synology before my mac picks them up and import them to icloud. When I moved my 25k photos to icloud, I discovered how difficult it was to delete them. Google really doesn’t want you to delete your photos… </p>

  • hrlngrv

    Premium Member
    01 February, 2022 - 9:32 pm

    <p>| <em>Presumably, this change is coming to non-paying Gmail customers as well, though Google does </em><strong><em>not</em></strong><em> that it is not available to Google Workspace Essentials customers. Hm.</em></p><p><br></p><p>You really use Grammarly? Is it that poor at noticing the lack of verbs outside dependent clauses?</p>

    • Chris_Kez

      Premium Member
      02 February, 2022 - 9:39 am

      <p>For future reference, there is a polite way to offer a correction: </p><p>Hi Paul, a small typo— I think you meant “note” rather than “not”.</p>

      • hrlngrv

        Premium Member
        04 February, 2022 - 11:25 pm

        <p>You believe I had any intention of either being polite or offering correction rather than pointing out error?</p><p><br></p><p>Seems clear to me that (1) Paul Thurrott doesn’t actually use Grammarly, and/or (2) Grammarly is less valuable than a 6 oz bag of organic fertilizer.</p>

      • hrlngrv

        Premium Member
        04 February, 2022 - 11:27 pm

        <p>BTW, thanks for trying to play schoolmarm.</p>

    • byroncon

      05 February, 2022 - 12:31 am

      <p>As someone who’s still annoyed GSuite Legacy is being cancelled, I know that Essentials doesn’t include email so it makes sense this isn’t rolling out there. </p>

  • saint4eva

    02 February, 2022 - 2:44 am

    <p>Microsoft Outlook is incredibly beautiful. My organisation is moving over to Office 365 and this will give me opportunity to use Outlook at work – to have the same joy I am having using Outlook.com for my personal email.</p>

    • curtisspendlove

      04 February, 2022 - 2:48 pm

      <p>Agreed. I’ve actually stopped using the Outlook desktop app. </p><p><br></p><p>Office365 is actually not bad at all to use. It actually helps me get some work done. </p><p><br></p><p>These are not sentances I thought I would ever type. ;)</p>

  • fishnet37222

    Premium Member
    02 February, 2022 - 1:00 pm

    <p>I actually like the GMail interface. I tried Inbox when they offered it but went right back to the classic GMail.</p>

  • brettscoast

    Premium Member
    02 February, 2022 - 8:43 pm

    <p>This is maddening especially after Google killed off the terrific Inbox and fostered this new mail interface on its users. We need this outlook Gmail like a hole in the head. Seriously, Google.</p>

Windows Intelligence In Your Inbox

Sign up for our new free newsletter to get three time-saving tips each Friday

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Thurrott © 2024 Thurrott LLC