Sometimes you just want to send a quick email from your phone with a few taps, without having to delve into the full reply system and all the tools and controls that come with it. In those cases, some kind of quick reply functionality is ideal.
According to a new blog postThat’s what Google just added to its Gmail Android app, with the search giant explaining that the new feature is all about improving the experience for “quick, light replies.”
Instead of having to tap Reply, Reply All, or Forward when viewing an email, you can now type your response directly into a text box at the bottom of the email thread. Then, tap the Send button and it will be sent to your recipient.
If you want to use the full suite of messaging tools, including bold, italics, font color and more, you can just tap a button in the upper-right corner of the text box to expand it to the full, normal view. That’s better for “longer, more formal responses,” Google says.
Coming to iOS later
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this feature. It was first spotted six months ago in February 2024, but it appears to have only just been released. Still, better late than never.
Currently, this feature is only available for Gmail users on the Android operating system, but Google says it’s coming to iOS “later this year.” Are On Android, you don’t need to do anything special to enable this feature: just open an email in the Gmail app on Android, swipe to the bottom of the page, and start typing in the text box you’ll find there. When you’re done, just tap the Send button.
Of course, if you’d rather not use Gmail, there are plenty of excellent alternatives out there, and our roundup of the best email clients will help you choose the right one for you. But if you’re a Gmail user – and one who uses the app on Android – this new feature is yet another reason to stick with Google’s email service.
