Google has been putting serious work into building a full ecosystem on iOS, and today it’s adding a couple of much-needed tweaks to Gmail in an App Store update. Instead of bringing up a web page inside Gmail when the user clicks a link, it will open the separate Chrome app instead, adding a “Gmail” button that will let them get back to mail quickly. The same goes for other types of links — map or video links will open in Google’s Maps or YouTube apps instead of in a browser window. All three of these can be turned off in the app’s settings menu. Google has also changed Gmail’s sign-in settings, so people with multiple accounts can sign out of a single one instead of making a universal departure. As with Gmail 2.1, this isn’t the kind of massive update we saw in December, but it’s a nice fix for email power users, as well as another way for Google to link its iOS portfolio together.
Gmail for iOS update lets users automatically open links in Chrome, YouTube, or Safari
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
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