Gmail vs Today

Since both the Gmail Android app and Gmail itself is made by Google, the app supports all features Gmail offers (like labeling/starring) and gets new features implemented early - usually as soon as they are announced.

Gmail brings much of the functionality and power of Google's search engine to the app's search. You can use operators such as label:, is:, OR, has: among others, define date ranges, limit search to specific groups and so on. And, you can do it all amazingly fast. The search will also try to predict what you're trying to search for before you've even finished your query and offer up those results.

The app allows inserting files from Drive straight to email or uploading attachments to Drive before sending them out. It will also notify if the person you're sending the file can open the file or if you should change the sharing settings for that file beforehand. Finally, you can choose which one of your Google accounts you want visible in the app.

Not only is the application free, it comes bundled with the Android OS by default so you don't even have to bother downloading it.

The app does not require a confirmation to show images as Google now hosts the images on their own servers making it safe. You can still disable the automatic displaying of images in the settings if you wish.

Gmail offers the ability to automatically organize your mail into specific categories:

• Primary
• Social
• Promotions
• Updates
• Priority

Each of the categories can be disabled and you can move your mail around from category to category or set your own rules which sender should be put in which category.

In addition to day, week and agenda views that have improved aesthetics and usability features compared to the stock app, there are also two views that combine agenda and month views in interesting ways.

One approach shows a complete, color-coded month with agenda view beneath it and the second shows a complete month that pops up agenda view when clicked on a date.

The app has minimalistic, semi-transparent, good-looking and customizable homescreen widgets for agenda and month views. Attributes that can be customized include choosing between light and dark themes, 12 and 24 hour clock, if the widget header should be displayed as well as adjusting opacity level and date range among other options.

On-screen notifications have a shortcuts for map and ability to snooze them.

Google Calendar has an easy to overview interface, that doesn't overwhelm with options. It's based on Google's stock Calendar application with modifications to user interface and functionality.

To quickly add an event, each view has an option to either click a plus button somewhere on the screen or long-press a date to bring up a form. The long-press form will allow entering only the event name and assume that it's an all day event, while the plus button form allows setting the event duration as well.

Both forms have an edit button for a adding more detailed information. This way in addition to selecting an event name and date, there's an ability to add location, start/end times, guests, description, color-code as well as choosing if it's an all day event, how often it repeats, how many and what kind of reminders are needed and setting your availability and privacy settings.

The app will color-code different calendars in different colors as well as allow selecting a different color for each event.

It has a 14-day trial and costs $2.99 to use full-time.

Google calendar allows setting how many reminders are needed with each having the ability to set how long before the event the notification should remind and if it should be done via on-screen or e-mail notification.

The app leverages Google Maps when adding location for an event by offering suggestions as well as offers opening Maps to help get directions to an event via shortcut on a reminder notification.