Those who open the Gmail app on their Android phone may notice a new user interface when replying to emails. Google announced the launch of Quick Reply in Gmail, a new user interface that makes responding to emails easier. The company has been testing the feature with a small number of users since November last year, and wide-scale deployment has begun as part of the latest Android Feature Drop.
Before this update, opening any email in Gmail's Android app required tapping the reply button to start composing a message. Tapping the reply button opens the full-screen email composing user interface that everyone is probably familiar with. While the full-screen email composing UI is great for drafting longer responses, it's not necessary for just sending a quick message.
That's why Google is introducing the Quick Reply feature in Gmail. Quick Reply replaces the Reply, Reply All, and Forward buttons at the bottom of the current UI, adding a text box at the bottom of each email that you can quickly tap to enter a brief response. From left to right, the new Quick Reply box includes a button for attaching files, a drop-down menu for editing the recipient list or replying to all senders, the aforementioned text box for drafting text messages, and an emoji button for replying to emails. Once you start entering text in the box, the emoji button is replaced by a send button, and a new expand button is added that lets you switch to the more traditional full-screen email composing UI.
Gemini button is on the way for Gmail Android app
A Gemini button is also expected to be added to the Gmail Android app soon. This button can be used to make further queries as well as extract email summaries. Google is working to incorporate generative AI across its suite of products, and with Gmail being one of Google's biggest products, Gemini's arrival in this application is no surprise.