Gmail Gets a New Tabbed Interface

Google is rolling out a new look for its Gmail Web-based email service. Gmail now includes several tabs and will automatically sort messages into default or custom categories.

TechCrunch’s Frederic Lardinois reported, “Google today is introducing a new way to manage your Gmail inbox. This new view of your inbox puts a number of tabs at the top of Gmail’s inbox column. By default, Google shows tabs – and automatically categorizes your messages into them – for your social updates from sites like Google+, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube, promotions from the likes of Google Offers and Groupon, and a kind of catch-all ‘Updates’ tab for your bills, receipts and similar messages.”

CNET’s Seth Rosenblatt observed, “It’s not quite the ‘Card’-ification of Gmail, as Google has gone to great lengths to make as many of its services as possible take their visual cues from the popular ‘Card’ layout of Google Now. However, it’s definitely more touch-friendly and designed to make it easier to organize e-mail.”

Mashable’s Christina Warren noted, “Google announced the new look on its Gmail blog and says that it will be rolling out the update ‘gradually’ on the desktop. Updates for iOS and Android will be available in the next few weeks. Users that don’t want the new look on the desktop can switch back to the classic view. Google says that if you want to get the new inbox sooner, watch for a ‘Configure Inbox’ setting to hit the gear menu icon in Gmail.”

InformationWeek’s Thomas Claburn commented, “Think of it as an interface designed to divide-and-conquer. It won’t actually reduce the volume of messages you receive, but it will make incoming messages easier to ignore by separating them into distinct categories and hiding them behind tabs. Out of sight, out of mind.”