Google will send Gmail’s basic HTML view into the afterlife starting in January 2024, after which everyone who uses it will switch to the service’s much more modern “Standard” view. The change appears to have been announced around September 19 in a Google Support Article.
While the vast majority of people undoubtedly use Standard view on their PCs, the HTML version of Gmail has its advantages. The streamlined Gmail experience loads quickly and users can access it even on very outdated machines or with much slower connections. Its simpler nature makes it useful in situations where the best you can get is a 3G connection (3G died last year in the US, but still).
Register reports that a Google spokesperson said: “Gmail’s basic HTML views… were replaced by their modern successors more than 10 years ago and do not include full features.”
In fact, the HTML version doesn’t offer many of the features of modern Gmail, which some might consider a feature in itself. It has no chat, no spell checker, no ability to add or import contacts, and no support for rich format text. It has no special keyboard shortcuts nor can you use email aliases. its alot just send an email – your inbox, in the order the emails were sent to you.
