It’s the end of an era for Gmail. The well-known red-and-white envelope logo for the service is finally being retired, to be replaced by a multi-color icon that brings Gmail in line with the rest of Google’s modern colorful logo designs. The new logo still has a vague callback to the old envelope, but now the most prominent characteristic is that it’s just an “M” on a white background.
There’s a similarly big change for Google Calendar, which gives up its flipping pages for a square aesthetic and was also one of the few apps that previously didn’t use the multicolor palette. Smaller refreshes are seen in Google Drive, Docs, and Meet.
Considering how poorly people react to changes like these — despite having zero effect on functionality — we expect a minor storm of complaints when app updates start arriving on webpages and phones. Although we have to say, Google’s latest iconography does make it difficult to distinguish one app from another at a glance on your phone’s home screen. Google hasn’t given a definitive timeline for where the full rollout will be on its way.
The icon rebrand comes as just part of a big branding change for Google on Tuesday. Its enterprise and education services product, previously known as G Suite, is being renamed Google Workspace — which, frankly, is a huge improvement. The service itself is changing as well, with Google claiming deeper integration between all of its apps to streamline your daily workflow between mail, calendar, chat, calling, documents, files, project management, and more.
This is, of course, Google’s latest attempt to take on Microsoft in the enterprise services space, while simultaneously doing battle with smaller players in specific areas like Slack, Zoom, AirTable, Asana, Monday.com, and so many others. While consumers who use free (or very inexpensive) Google products decry Google’s intertwining of its various services, a “one interface for everything” design is a feature enterprise customers care about.
Google Photos is introducing a new design for the Collections tab on Android, giving users more control over their albums, folders, and photo categories. The update is all about customization, allowing users to pin collections they access often, hide sections they use rarely, and rearrange the layout to make their photo libraries easier to navigate.
According to a 9To5Google report, the change comes after Google rolled out the redesigned floating navigation bar on Android earlier this year. Rather than inventing a brand new way to store photos, Google is making it easier to get to the content people want, without having to scroll through sections they rarely open.
Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.
The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.