How Google Wants To Change Your Gmail To Make It Less Distracting

Google may be planning a significant design overhaul to some of its most popular apps, including Gmail, a new report says. The update, which is rumored to be called Google 2, could be part of an effort to streamline Google apps across the desktop, mobile devices and wearables.

Seth Weintraub of 9to5Google recieved the tip, and his source described an alleged upcoming change to Gmail that would focus on full-screen views. The updated Gmail app is expected to not only hit the Android mobile app, but iOS and the Web version, too. Here's what Weintraub's source said in regard to the new Gmail layout:

It doesn't have the feel of a traditional email client with folders/inbox on the side. It's like full screen email where they highlight one email at a time and you just sort of cycle through them by snoozing them, archiving them away or deleting. I think you can still get a small list from a drop down menu of your emails but they highlight full screen viewing of each email.

Weintraub reports that this type of design change will hit many of Google's native apps, not just Gmail. The idea is to move distractions out if the way, and eventually gesture and voice controls could replace some of those stripped-out UI elements. It sounds very much like the notification-centric Google Now-inspired UI we've seen on Android Wear so far.

The tip follows another report that implied Google is currently testing some changes for Gmail. Geek.com's Russell Holly posted screenshots demonstrating a slew of potential new features, including the ability to pin important emails at the top of your inbox and snooze emails. This means you would be able to mark it as a read for a certain period of time before it floats to the top of your inbox. The screenshots showed a few new categories in the Gmail sidebar as well, including Travel, Purchases and Finance.