New bottom navigation bar rolling out to Google Chat app on Android & iOS

Google has announced a revamped bottom navigation bar for its Chat app on Android and iOS devices. This update aims to provide users with easy access to key features and improve overall navigation within the app.

More specifically, with the latest Google Chat mobile app update, you will now have easy access to the following features:

• Home View: It lets you stay organized by consolidating all conversations into a unified space. You can also utilize a filter to quickly drill down to unread messages, ensuring you stay on top of your most recent interactions.
• Direct Messages: It offers a compact list of both one-on-one and group messages. Pinned conversations are conveniently placed at the top of the list.
• Spaces: The Spaces view provides a condensed list of all user spaces. Pinned conversations will appear at the top of the list.
• Mentions: It assists you in effortlessly locating messages where they have been mentioned.

This update for the Google Chat app on Android and iOS is rolling out to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. The rollout will be gradual, taking up to 15 days for all users to see the new features.

The features will be available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts.

Meanwhile, Google is introducing a new streamlined homepage for Drive called Home that makes it easier and faster for you to find files that matter most. With this update, when you visit drive.google.com, you will now be directed to 'Home', instead of landing in 'My Drive'. You can also set your default to 'My Drive' by simply clicking on the "Change to My Drive" option in the banner on Home.

The new home page view in Google Drive is currently rolling out to Rapid Release domains and may potentially take longer than 15 days to be fully visible. For Scheduled Release domains, the extended rollout of this new feature will commence on January 11, 2024.