Google rolls out updated Gmail iOS app with custom signatures, vacation responders, Scribbles, more
Google has just started rolling out an update to the Gmail app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with a few new welcomed features. First off, users now have the ability to set a custom signature …
Context & Ripple Effects
Google's first native Gmail app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch only arrived on November 2, 2011 (Introducing the Gmail app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch), capping a multi-year run in which the company steered iOS users toward a mobile Safari web app built to feel native. Six weeks later, this update is the first feature iteration on top of that native client.
The additions — custom signatures, vacation responders, and Scribbles — are table-stakes Gmail settings that the launch version lacked, so the update is less about new capability than about closing the gap between the app and the desktop product users already knew.
First-order effects
- iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users can now set per-account signatures and vacation responders inside the app instead of falling back to desktop Gmail or Apple's built-in Mail, and can annotate photos with Scribbles before sending.
Second-order effects
- Every missing feature Google ships narrows the case for iOS users to stay on Apple's default Mail client or paid third-party alternatives, putting pressure on those clients to match Gmail-specific settings natively.
Third-order effects
- A six-week turnaround from launch to feature update signals Google intends to maintain Gmail on iOS as a first-class client rather than a token presence — keeping control of the mail touchpoint even on a rival platform's devices.
The trend: Gmail on iOS is moving from a Safari web-app stopgap to a rapidly iterated native client, with Google competing for the inbox on platforms it does not own.