Gmail could be in for a major design overhaul with a much cleaner interface and simplified layout resembling the interface of the mobile version.
The Gmail team is reportedly testing this new version internally, and if everything falls into place the new design may go live soon.
Nothing is official at this point, but leaked images published by Geek.com reveal an exciting overhaul that could make Gmail much simpler and more visually appealing.
"The wave of features we've been invited to take a look at shows an entirely different user interface, one that is clearly designed to function across a variety of screen sizes without losing functionality," Geek's Russell Holly points out.
Moreover, the new layout also sports a "fly-in menu system," which comes to replace "the crazy tab system that was bolted into Gmail last year."
The fresher, much cleaner look seen in this newly-leaked Gmail interface definitely declutters everything and leaves plenty of breathing space. The "fly-in menu system" Geek mentions simply pops in from the left of the screen when needed, while another menu rests at the bottom right. The small red button with a "+" on it (see image above) will house the "Compose" option, as well as shortcuts to set reminders.
The new interface, meanwhile, no longer shows starred emails, which is currently Google's way of allowing users to mark important messages. With the current setup, Gmail users can click the star next to an email and have said email appear in the Star folder just beneath the Inbox one for easier management. The leaked images show that Google may ditch this system with the new version of Gmail and instead allow users to pin important messages, which will appear highlighted at the top of the inbox.
"You can use the toggle at the top of the UI to drag your pinned emails to the top of the pile, or leave it switched off and see everything in the order it arrived in your Inbox," Geek further notes.
Overall, this Gmail overhaul looks great and seems like a breath of fresh air compared to the current interface, but the fact that it's allegedly in testing internally doesn't guarantee that it will actually see the light of day.
Even if this new layout doesn't go live for the general public, however, it seems pretty clear that Google is considering some changes for its popular Gmail. Intrigued?
