Gmail Brings a Dedicated Widget for Devices Running on iOS 14

Gmail for iOS has been updated with support for a dedicated widget. The Gmail widget is available on the devices running on iOS 14 and above, lets you search your inbox and compose a new email. In addition to Gmail, Google Drive and Google Fit apps on iOS have been updated with widgets. Google has also promised to bring Calendar and Chrome widgets to deliver an enhanced experience on iOS 14 and later versions. Meanwhile, Chrome on the iPad has been updated with support for multiple windows.

Unlike the Gmail widget on Android that lets you view your latest emails, its counterpart on iOS doesn’t provide you with a preview of your inbox. It instead gives you a standard 4×2 widget from where you can search your inbox or tap the Compose shortcut to create a new email. The Gmail widget on iOS also comes with a shortcut to view your unread emails. It provides a counter to let you view how many new emails are there in your inbox instead of having to use the badge on the Gmail app icon.

The differences between the Android and iOS widgets of Gmail exist mainly due to Apple’s developer guidelines that limit developers from providing any interactive elements on their widgets.

Google has provided the updated Gmail for iOS (version 6.0.201101) for devices running on iOS 12.0 and above. However, the Gmail widget will only be available if your iPhone is running on iOS 14.

Alongside the Gmail widget, Google announced that it has created the Drive widget for iOS devices that provides the ability to search for any files stored on the cloud storage. Google Fit for iOS has also been updated with the widget that lets you track your activity with Heart Points and Steps.

Google is also bringing the Calendar widget for iOS devices in the coming days that will showcase your upcoming appointments and give quick access to your calendar. Additionally, the Chrome widget that will give access to search, open a new tab or incognito tab, voice search, and QR scanning has also arrived to Chrome Beta. It will be available to everyone early next year, Google said.

Google Drive, Calendar, Fit, and Chrome with widget support

Recently, Google introduced widget support to its apps including Google Photos, YouTube Music, and the native Google app. The experience, however, is so far identical to what one could get through the context menus on Google apps previously.

Google has also updated Chrome for iOS and iPadOS to a version 87.0.4280.60. The updated Chrome browser on the iPad allows you to open multiple windows simultaneously. You just need to tap and hold a link and then choose the option ‘Open in new window’ to open a specific website in a new window. Further, the update brings a feature called ‘safety check’ in the Settings menu that allows you to check whether you’re on the latest version of Chrome, have Safe Browsing enabled, and whether you have any compromised passwords. It will also provide you with the steps to fix compromised passwords, if you have any.

The updated Chrome browser also comes with a secured auto-fill feature that will ask you for Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode when auto-filling your passwords.

Earlier this week, Google updated Chrome browser on macOS with various performance improvements. It also rolled out a native build of Chrome for the Apple silicon that it had to halt for a day due to some glitches.

Are iPhone 12 mini, HomePod mini the Perfect Apple Devices for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.