Google is testing an interface in the Gmail app that lets users respond to emails faster

Google is testing an innovation in the interface of the Android version of its Gmail app. When users want to reply to an email, they are no longer sent to a separate window, but can instead immediately type a message in a chat bar.

Currently, users of the Android version of the Gmail app see three buttons at the bottom of an email: “Reply,” “Reply All,” and “Forward.” However, Google is testing an interface that replaces these buttons with a chat bar, discovered Android Police. Users can immediately type an email without being sent to a separate window. This way, while composing an email, users can immediately view all previous emails in the conversation.

Via a drop-down menu, users can determine to which email addresses the message will be sent, or whether the email will be forwarded. The buttons on the left and right side of the screen, next to the chat bar, make it possible to attach files and emojis respectively. With the button on the right side of the chat bar, users can still display the ‘old’ full-screen window. Besides the fact that the latter can be more useful when composing long emails, it is also the only way users can adjust the subject, for example.

Android Police writes that this appears to be a limited server-side test, as most Android devices do not yet have access to the update, even if they are running the latest beta version. It is still unclear when the feature will be available to all Android users and whether it will also be released for iOS devices.

Via Android Police