Gmail vs Gmail Go: how are they alike and how are they different

In 2017 Google announced Android Go, a reduced version of the robot’s operating system focused on terminals that were fairer in power. Later, the lighter Go applications began to arrive, such as Files Go, Assistant Go, Maps Go or Gmail Go. Taking into account that you can install many of these apps on your mobile even if it is not Android Go, the question is inevitable: How is Gmail different from Gmail Go?

Gmail Go arrived in 2018 as a lightweight version of Gmail, with an almost the same design but a much smaller size. Three years have passed since then, and differences between Gmail and Gmail Go they are even harder to find. If you are hesitating between going to the light version, we will tell you what you will find and what you will lack in Gmail Go with respect to Gmail.

Lighter, but not light

Gmail Go (left) takes up less space, but is far from being a lightweight app

The first Gmail Go APK was 9MB, but it’s been going uphill since then. The latest versions of the Gmail Go APK are already 30 MB, which results in an installation size of the current application of more than 100 MB. A bit far from what we would call a lightweight application.

Light it is not, but yes lighter than the standard version of Gmail, which occupies installed approximately double, or slightly more than 200 MB. Google has opted to provide Gmail Go with almost all the functionality of Gmail, so that the size of both versions of the application has ended up being similar.

Indistinguishable appearance

Gmail (right) and Gmail Go (left) are virtually indistinguishable visually

In the first versions of Gmail Go it was possible to find some small differences in the appearance, such as the fact that the images were not shown for the senders or a different account selector. These differences have been smoothed out even more in the most current versions.

Nowadays, Gmail Go and Gmail look pretty much the same in all its sections: the message list, the side panel, the account selector, the view of an email or the composition of a message. Everything is exactly the same, if we dismiss that in Gmail there are some animations when sliding a message, which do not appear in Gmail Go.

Impossible to distinguish Gmail from Gmail Go

Everything is the same, although curiously Gmail seems to go smoother than Gmail Go, at least in a terminal with enough power to move it. Gmail Go seems to suffer a bit with animations, as if running at a lower number of frames per second. Taking into account that it is designed for mobiles that are very tight in power, it is possible that it is intentional.

Differences in settings

If you want to find differences between Gmail and Gmail Go, you will have to open the settings section of the application, and even then it is necessary to refine the view to find the differences. For example, in the Gmail Go notification settings, the section disappears Notification sounds.

However, the most important change is that no Chat, Rooms or Meeting tabs in Gmail Go. They are not active out of the box nor do you need to disable them manually. The functionality is simply not there and therefore does not appear in the settings either.

There are no Chat, Rooms or Meeting tabs in Gmail Go

Gmail Go does not lack neither the basic functions nor those that are not so basic of Gmail, such as intelligent writing or intelligent responses, although others fall along the way smart customization features, partly because they are related to Gmail Chat, which is not compatible with Gmail Go.

In the Gmail Go settings, the Smart functions and personalization section does not appear or Smart features and customization in other Google products, which use the content of emails, chats and videos to personalize your experience. In Gmail it’s optional, and in Gmail Go it doesn’t even appear.

Some smart options disappear in Gmail Go too

The rest is practically the same, and that is that over time Gmail Go has gone from being a light version of Gmail to basically Gmail without Chat, Meet integration. Everything is the same, looks the same and works the same, in exchange for a slightly smaller size.

Which one is better for you

The first version of Gmail Go (left) was much more different than Gmail (right), but today they are identical

In summary, Gmail Go hardly differs from Gmail. The look is identical and almost all of the Gmail functionality is present in Gmail Go, including things like confidential emails or scheduling emails. Google has prioritized extending all Gmail functions to both versions over other aspects such as lightness.

Yes, Gmail Go is somewhat lighter, although the savings will be relative since Gmail is pre-installed on all Android phones with Google services, so that the space savings of changing one application for another will be relative.

The main difference between Gmail and Gmail Go is that no Chat, Rooms and Meeting tabs, although this will hardly be a determining point in which application to use, since they can be disabled from the Gmail settings, at least for now.

So the situation has a simple conclusion. If your mobile is Android Go, Gmail Go is more appropriate, while if your mobile comes with Gmail, there are no compelling reasons for you to use Gmail Go instead.