Google's email service, Gmail, has been updated with powerful new features, elevating it to the status of an all-in-one app that can handle emails, calls, video calls, messages, and group texts, among other things. According to a new report, these changes, which are part of a larger Workspace update, will allow users to start a call with a friend or colleague directly from their email inbox.
According to The Verge, Google has updated the familiar email interface with four tabs - Mail, Chat, Spaces, and Meet - in one of the most significant changes to Gmail in years. The changes to Google Workspace are part of the company's effort to create a hybrid work environment where employees can have "spontaneous chats" while working from home, according to the company. This means Gmail users should be able to pick up and make calls directly from their inbox – without having to create any meeting links. Users will be able to join these calls from anywhere, including their phones' Gmail apps and the Gmail web interface.
Google is also revamping its Rooms feature, which has been renamed Spaces, to make it a place for threaded conversations similar to Slack. According to Google, these can also be found in the search function, so finding an old conversation for an obscure product or topic mentioned should be as simple as searching for a specific email using the powerful search feature. Sanaz Ahari, Google's Senior Director of Product Management, stated, "Our intention is to bring Meet calling to all the natural endpoints in Workspace where you'd initiate an adhoc call, including chats, people cards, and Spaces, but this will come first to one-to-one chats within the Gmail mobile app."