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I don't use gmail so I'm surprised at how low the (useful) information density is, in either version. Extrapolating from that screenshot, it looks like that wi

I don't use gmail so I'm surprised at how low the (useful) information density is, in either version. Extrapolating from that screenshot, it looks like that window could hold about a dozen emails. I use the no-frills Mail.app on macOS and a window that's takes about half or two thirds of my screen, and fits 40 emails. In my case I also get to see the "To" address in the list, helping me quickly triage the emails that are not sent to me alone. Do people really prefer low density interfaces these days? Removing the visual clutter is certainly an improvement but desktop apps have the menu bar where they can put all the actions, whereas a web app is more limited: it's either a mess of buttons or hamburger buttons which often end up a bit clumsy.

saiya-jin 8y ago
I think its some stupid side-effect of mobile environments, where for touch interaction, stuff needs to be big and hence low density of information. New version of gmail is so much worse for me on PC - lower density, much slower to work with on Firefox (I ain't switching to Chrome due to this, no thank you). Something akin to Microsoft putting that idiotic (sorry but I can't be polite with this specific topic) mobile-like interface into Windows 10 for desktops. Unifying what shouldn't be unified.
TeMPOraL 8y ago
I blame mobile, and the desire to reuse design (and often code) between devices. Touch interfaces need big things because phone screens are small relative to fingers. On desktop, such interfaces are unbearable to me; I hate them to the point I actually installed Stylus extension and now hot-fix websites I visit frequently with quick CSS work, to increase information density (and by increase I mean double or triple).
- mywittyname 8y ago
  Ironically, Inbox was a million times more mobile friendly than Gmail is. Turns out, tabs make for poor mobile experience.
scrooched_moose 8y ago
There surprisingly is still a toggle for density. That appears to be the default ("comfortable") but you can change it to "compact".
nicoburns 8y ago
This is configurable :) The main problem with modern gmail is that it's slow (esp. outside of chrome).
- fatboy93 8y ago
  Is it possible that it's doing it based on users string?

saiya-jin 8y ago

I think its some stupid side-effect of mobile environments, where for touch interaction, stuff needs to be big and hence low density of information. New version of gmail is so much worse for me on PC - lower density, much slower to work with on Firefox (I ain't switching to Chrome due to this, no thank you). Something akin to Microsoft putting that idiotic (sorry but I can't be polite with this specific topic) mobile-like interface into Windows 10 for desktops. Unifying what shouldn't be unified.

TeMPOraL 8y ago

I blame mobile, and the desire to reuse design (and often code) between devices. Touch interfaces need big things because phone screens are small relative to fingers. On desktop, such interfaces are unbearable to me; I hate them to the point I actually installed Stylus extension and now hot-fix websites I visit frequently with quick CSS work, to increase information density (and by increase I mean double or triple).

mywittyname 8y ago
Ironically, Inbox was a million times more mobile friendly than Gmail is. Turns out, tabs make for poor mobile experience.

scrooched_moose 8y ago

There surprisingly is still a toggle for density. That appears to be the default ("comfortable") but you can change it to "compact".

nicoburns 8y ago

This is configurable :) The main problem with modern gmail is that it's slow (esp. outside of chrome).

fatboy93 8y ago
Is it possible that it's doing it based on users string?