Google announced on Thursday that Gmail’s new compose window feature will become the default option for users, and that it will do away with the old compose option soon thereafter. With the recent termination of Reader, Google has already been in the doghouse for some technology users, and if you’re not a fan of the new compose, this is yet another feature you’re going to have to give up on.
If you haven’t noticed any changes to your Gmail account yet, this is due to the update tolling out over the “next few days”, but you will soon find that you’ve been switched to the new compose, whether you chose to or not. The new compose window will eventually be the only option for users to write email, but for the time being, you can switch back to the old compose experience.
Launched in October 2012, the new compose window allows users to create emails using an in-window pop-up while still viewing their inbox. This means users can write messages while reading the context of other emails, and can work on and minimize multiple drafts to the bottom of the browser’s window.
After looking at user feedback, Google added new features to this upgraded version. These features include the ability to send files with Google Drive, a new pop-out replies option, starring and labeling while composing a message, and support for the Canned Responses lab. The new compose feature also has a special function for replying to emails. As expected, it appears just below your email threads, but it scales down the content inside so you can easily see your recipients and email controls.
Google has already requested for user feedback on Google+, and replies include a fair mix of negative and positive responses. Likewise, we asked you about the new Gmail compose experience in December, and back then, many of you were still unsure about it.
Now that new compose is a default setting for Gmail, how do you feel about it? Do you think it is better or worse than the old version?