Google announced it’s updating the Gmail iOS widget with a new one that’s very useful, showing you the subjects and senders of the emails sitting in your inbox. Now the Gmail’s iOS widget will have the same functionality as the current Android one.
When the first version of the Gmail widget launched, it isn’t particularly helpful. It doesn’t actually show you much information about the emails you’ve received, though it does tell you how many are sitting unread in your inbox. Part of the old widget’s lack of functionality was due to Apple’s limitations. You’re currently not allowed to build interactivity into your widget, and any tapping the user does has to be handled by launching the app. Those rules haven’t substantially changed since the first widget was introduced, but the new design shows that there’s still room for useful information. You may not be able to archive an email from your home screen.
Google also announced that this apps that could be useful for heavy users of its services. “Meet” is a business-focused video chat app is getting support for iOS’s picture-in-picture feature, so you can still see your co-workers or the presentation while you switch apps to check on a file or email.
