Gmail has over 1.8 million active users worldwide as of 2023, making it the largest email service in the world. One is typically able to access Gmail in a web browser or through the official smartphone applications. Now, the company silently announced that it will discontinue Gmail’s basic HTML view starting in early 2024.
According to the information mentioned on a support page, it is confirmed in an email to a few users the brand Google revealed that it would be discounting the basic HTML version of Gmail by January 2024. However, the exact date has yet to be made clear.
Moving on, Google is planning to replace basic HTML with “standard view. “After January 2024, Gmail automatically changes to Standard view. This new change will be supported on a few browsers, including Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. With this latest view, users are able to use the latest features and security.
The reason behind this new change is to increase the features as per modernity. The basic HTML version of Gmail has been lagging pretty behind when it comes to features and improvements for years now. It has a drawback of new filters, which makes Gmail extra useful, along with new AI features and many more. The other reason is it offers slow connections and old web browsers.
One more thing that’s mentioned is the “mobile web” version. However, this doesn’t seem to be referring to the default mobile view of Gmail.com, which is not basic HTML but the mobile version of the basic HTML view. Accessing the basic HTML version is possible through Gmail’s loading screen, where a placed link helps to switch views visible during the loading process of users’ inboxes. One can also view it through a direct link.
Since it is not exactly clear yet why Google is choosing to kill off the HTML view right now. But the pretty obvious reason, which one can guess, is outdated views along with lagging features. Google clearly, in its statement, announced that Gmail’s basic HTML views will shut down by January 2024. It is also mentioned that the standard view of Gmail brings accessibility features and adds, in which users will receive an “in-product announcement” on how to switch to Gmail’s standard view ahead of the basic HTML shutdown.
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