Google has updated the Gmail app for iOS with support for the larger displays on the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. There don’t seem to be any other unmentioned changes (still no unified inbox), but you won’t have to use the awkward zoomed view when using the app anymore.
You can grab Gmail version 3.1415926 (yes, that’s Pi) for free from the iOS App Store.
What’s New in Version 3.1415926
Support for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus
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ugh… still no extensions so there’s no way to send pictures from the gallery app, this is lame
Let’s not knock Google too much. At least they have actually released iPhone 6/+ compatible apps. There are so many using this horrible zoomed display. Mailbox App included. I would be expecting most major apps now to have at least released a minor update with the new device support before releasing any major new versions.
I’m happy to see the update but I’m sad that the Gmail app, like just about all Google apps, still doesn’t conform to Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines. All applicable native Apple apps and the vast majority of third-party apps that have been updated for iOS 7 or higher support the horizontal swipe gesture (swiping from the left edge of the screen to the right) to go “back” (i.e. back in the browsing history in Safari or back “up the stack” in utility apps like Settings, Mail, etc.). This means you don’t ever have to reach the far-away top-left “back” button. Not only that, it is incredibly useful, fun, and a HUGE timesaver on the iPhone 6, and even more-so on the larger 6 Plus.
Google ignores this paradigm in their apps. In Chrome, for example, this gesture takes you to another tab, not back to the previous page. In this updated Gmail it still does nothing.
Google’s apps unfortunately break the consistency expected by apps on iOS. It’s likely that they do it because that’s how it’s done on Android, since Androids have a dedicated back button. But this is a different OS and the apps need to be built for optimal use in this environment. I tend to immediately any apps that don’t conform to the horizontal-swipe-to-go-back gesture. It’s that useful. And measurably more so on the larger screens. If you haven’t tried that gesture, please do so. It works in most apps on every iOS device with iOS 7+.