Google is ready to release a new version of the Gmail app for Android, which is set to become the go-to app for all of your email accounts.
Gmail 5 for Android will, for the first time, offer the ability to manage other webmail, POP3 or IMAP accounts, allowing users to switch between work and personal emails from within the one app.
Previously, Android users have been forced to use the stock Android Mail app or another third-party app to handle multiple mail accounts.
The Gmail website has long provided the facility to collect and reply to email from other email accounts, but this involved an awkward alias where the mail would arrive from the Gmail address “on behalf” of the POP3/IMAP account. The Gmail 5 app keeps things cleaner, with no aliases involved.
Users can switch between their different mail accounts by tapping the menu button in the top left of the screen, then tapping the down arrow next to the active account name, and then selecting the appropriate account.
The design of the Gmail 5 app is very similar to that of the Google Inbox app that was launched last month. Inbox only supports personal Gmail accounts, however, which suggests that Google plans to keep offering the two different email apps for the time being, despite their many similarities.
Gmail 5 is set to be released in the Google Play Store later this week, but you can download the package now from the Android Police site.
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