What you need to know
- Google has added default mail app support for Gmail.
- The feature allows you to set Gmail as your default mail app on iPhone and iPad.
- Default mail and browser support rolled out with iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 last week.
As many have hoped and expected, Google has rolled out a new update for the Gmail (opens in new tab) app that lets you make it your default mail app on an iPhone and iPad running iOS 14 or iPadOS 14.
The new update, Version 6.0.200825, adds support for Gmail (opens in new tab) to be the default mail app. Apple announced the ability to set default mail apps, as well as default browsers, back at WWDC in June. The new feature rolled out with iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 last week when both released to the public, but support for Gmail (opens in new tab) was missing.
Thankfully, it only took a week for Google to roll out support for the feature. According to the update, not only can you set Gmail (opens in new tab) as the default mail app through the Settings app, but the Gmail app will prompt you in the app as well.
NEW: With iOS 14, you can now set Gmail as your default email app. Follow the in-app prompt or go to Settings > Gmail to set Gmail as Default.
Users can update the app to get support for the new feature now or download Gmail from the App Store (opens in new tab). Keep in mind that iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 still contain a bug that messes with this feature. Restarting your iPhone currently removes the default mail and browser choices on iOS 14 and changes them back to Apple's own Mail and Safari app. For the mail issue, in particular, you can get around this issue by deleting the Mail app. This is, of course, only useful if you don't need the Mail app and only need the Gmail app.
