Gmail on mobile web and Gmail Offline app get iOS-like refresh

Google has announced a refresh designed for its Gmail mobile web app and Gmail Offline. The new update will be designed to look on the lines of Gmail for iOS app, a design that a lot of users like and appreciate, said the company in a Google+ post.

While the post did not elaborate on what exactly has been changed beside the look and feel of the page, it said that that the Gmail app revamp for iPhone and iPad from December last year formed the basis of this change. A couple of the most important aspects of the iOS facelift involved improved search and integration with Google Calendar that Google says will be a part of this revamp.

The new look for Gmail on your phone browsers will dole out copious amounts of whitespace, larger fonts and a cleaner interface. Searching for mails on your phone will become easy too with autocomplete aiding your search. You will also be able to RSVP to Calendar invites faster too. The new look will be available to Android, iOS, BlackBerry and Kindle Fire devices.

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The revamped app bears a striking resemblance to Gmail’s iOS app

Gmail Offline app for Chrome too will get a refresh, even though the update does not seem to have made its way into Chrome Web Store yet. The widescreen version of the phone app will work offline and give a two panel view of your inbox.

While Gmail for most important platforms will be receiving this update, conspicuous by its absence is Windows Phone. Google seems to have wedged the knife deeper into its souring relationship with Microsoft by keeping the Windows Phone platform from the update.

Microsoft, on several occasions late last year, had alleged that Google was hindering the development of YouTube for the Windows Phone platform. The company pointed out the ineffectiveness of YouTube for the platform on various occasions since 2010. Compared to its Android and iOS counterparts, YouTube on Windows Phone is just an icon for redirecting users to the mobile web version of the video sharing site. Both exchanged bitter words over it earlier this year too.

The Gmail app update for iOS had come about in December, bumping it to version 2.0. It brought along with it a long awaited feature – multiple account support. Gmail for iOS now handles up to five accounts. The app could previously support only one account. Users can shuffle between accounts quickly from the menu. The changing over has been made easier with icons and little flags that indicate unread messages.
 
Users can also save up on some precious time with the auto-complete function that makes searching for mails in the inbox easy. Features like RSVP to Google Calendar invites and adding a +1 or a comment to Google+ posts without having to leave the inbox are some of the other “time saving” features that were added to the update.

Google said in the blog post that the Gmail app update for iOS had been in the making for six months before its release. The company had bought Sparrow, a popular client for Gmail on iOS, and both the teams were said to be working on bettering the Gmail app.