Gmail for Android has been gaining a number of features in its last few updates, and the latest is the ability to insert GIF images directly in emails via Gboard. The reborn Google Keyboard’s built-in GIF image gallery is quite extensive, and now those GIFs can be inserted directly into messages composed in Gmail, though the update does not seem to support other GIF keyboards just yet. The feature is fairly popular among keyboards, so the lack of support outside of Gboard may seem a bit limiting to users who aren’t already on board with Gboard.
GIF images from other keyboards will end up as attachments, so there is some support, but inserting multiple GIF images in one message or intermingling them with message text won’t happen with any keyboard except Gboard. Using Gboard, however, GIF images can be inserted quickly and easily into emails, in the same way that they would be added in any other app taking input from Gboard. A tap on the emoji button and then the GIF button will get you to the gallery, and tapping on a GIF image will insert it in place, wherever your cursor is in the email message. Unlike when using other keyboards, inserting multiple GIF images in a single message and mixing them into the message’s body text are both a go.
This update comes on the heels of another update that brought account-specific shortcuts, among other perks. Graphical overhauls, faster searches, and snoozing emails for later action have all joined Gmail’s rapidly growing feature list recently. Gmail’s popularity is helped out immensely by the fact that it’s part of the core Google Apps suite, which means that flashing most GApps packages when flashing a custom ROM will get you Gmail, and it comes standard on most new Android devices. On top of all of that, it can interact with non-Gmail email accounts, which means that users who wish to do so can have it as their only mobile email client for all their accounts. While Google’s Inbox is still in fairly popular use and there are other email apps out there, the mainline Gmail client is quickly becoming one of the most popular, feature-rich email clients on the platform.