Google has been trying to roll a lot of its more popular properties into singular packages that might be a bit more useful because they would fulfill a wide range of purposes instead of being devoted to one specific kind of service. With Google Hangouts going away very soon in the near future, Google is trying to improve the functionality of its Gmail app which is now the central source for Chat and Hangout features that you might want to utilize.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Gmail for Android is getting a new set of notifications and status bar icons because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing users to tell the difference between Chat notifications and Spaces, as reported by 9to5G. These two notifications used to look quite similar which drastically reduced the usability of each of these apps, so it’s great that Google is finally starting to take steps to remedy matters with all things having been considered and taken into account.
The chat notification will now look like a speech bubble, but it will be a single bubble that is rectangular shaped and empty on the inside which is different from the SMS notification icon which is two speech bubbles on top of one another with one being filled in. The Spaces notification icon will now look like a group of three people standing together, and that should help you intuitively understand what notifications you are receiving without having to open the app itself.
Google’s attempts to make up for the discontinuation of Hangouts have been going quite smoothly for the most part, and dispelling any confusion that might have occurred through these two applications that can be used from within Gmail is another step in that direction. It will be interesting to see what other changes Google starts to incorporate for the purposes of helping people make the most of their desired applications and Chat in particular might start to give WhatsApp a run for its money quite soon.
Read next: A malware-ridden photo editing Android app has been installed by 100K users through Google Play Store
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Gmail for Android is getting a new set of notifications and status bar icons because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing users to tell the difference between Chat notifications and Spaces, as reported by 9to5G. These two notifications used to look quite similar which drastically reduced the usability of each of these apps, so it’s great that Google is finally starting to take steps to remedy matters with all things having been considered and taken into account.
The chat notification will now look like a speech bubble, but it will be a single bubble that is rectangular shaped and empty on the inside which is different from the SMS notification icon which is two speech bubbles on top of one another with one being filled in. The Spaces notification icon will now look like a group of three people standing together, and that should help you intuitively understand what notifications you are receiving without having to open the app itself.
Google’s attempts to make up for the discontinuation of Hangouts have been going quite smoothly for the most part, and dispelling any confusion that might have occurred through these two applications that can be used from within Gmail is another step in that direction. It will be interesting to see what other changes Google starts to incorporate for the purposes of helping people make the most of their desired applications and Chat in particular might start to give WhatsApp a run for its money quite soon.
Read next: A malware-ridden photo editing Android app has been installed by 100K users through Google Play Store
